


On the seas our hearts combine

by KimsyWims



Series: Kirkwall shorts [4]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Anxiety, Blow Jobs, Cause they do, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, First Kiss, Fluff, Humor, Kisses, M/M, Mating, Meredith starts a witch hunt, Mermaid Anders, More tags to be added, Pining, Pirate Fenris, Pirates, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Sex, Rebellions, Smut, Templars are terrible, dark themes, did I mention everybody lives?, mage hunting, mermaid au, narrow rescues, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-02-05
Packaged: 2018-05-10 22:32:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 24,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5603383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KimsyWims/pseuds/KimsyWims
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being a merman isn't always easy and experience tell's Anders that getting caught only mean that he'll get hurt. </p><p>However being caught by a crew who doesn't seem to mean him any harm isn't that scary, perhaps he can even trust these people not to hurt him. After all, they do have a very handsome elf in their crew that Anders immediately takes a liking to.<br/>Just a shame Fenris isn't as thrilled over mythical creatures as the rest of the crew.</p><p>A merman!Anders and pirate!Fenris AU.</p><p>EDIT: This whole thing takes a different dark turn starting at chapter seven. Witch hunters, murder, dark themes and the fight for basic survival.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anders was minding his own business swimming in the sea when a ship accidentally catches him. He doesn't know what to make of the strange crew of Hawke's nor what to do with the pretty elf with pretty eyes.

Anders had been joyfully minding his own business, swimming in the ocean. Or rather, he had been joyfully following a lazy jellyfish while it made it's slow way through the water. Now and then he'd stop to nudge it in another direction, only to giggle and do it again. The jellyfish didn't seem to mind, just gave a tiny electricity spark and went on it's new way.

It wasn't hard to amuse the blond merman really. A small little thing here, a catfish there, a jelly fish on the float and the blond would soon be giggling of delight over his made up games. He sometimes followed a catfish around, not a slimy catfish mind you. Sometime ,somewhere, some water nymphs must have been bored and turned some cat's onto fishes. Soft furry bodies but no paws nor tail, instead fins and gills, Anders were very fond of them to be perfectly honest. 

However, being as easily entertained as he was it often happened that he missed dangers within the surroundings. Sharks, water dragons, sirens, templars. The templar order caught mythical creatures and locked them up in circles for  _'their own good'_ as they liked to say. Anders had been caught in a net at the age of twelve and even though he'd escaped several times they had just found him again. 

Until the day the grey wardens had found him instead. The grey wardens was an order who was allowed to recruit who'm and what they wanted in order to prevent blights. Anders had been given the choice to work under the grey wardens or be given back to the same templars that had abused him since he was just a small thing. He had jumped on option number two faster than a shark could smell blood.

But after a time in the warden ponds or dragged in a tub from place to place and down the deep roads to be tipped into the waters there and fight whatever ancient evil lurking under the waters he had felt more caged than ever. Life had turned colorless and he had begun to snap at people. He had known he was bound to die, it was what happened to mermaids who were kept in misery. They died and the sea replaced them with sirens.

A knight in shining armor, quite literary, saved him. He was another member of the wardens, a spirit of justice. He had noticed that Anders staying there was unjust, noticed how Anders had slowly turned darker and darker. In the end he had been the one to help him leave the wardens without being stopped or even noticed. That was a few months ago and since that, he hadn't been caught again.

But right now, he had missed the net that had closed up behind him until he was already high over the water. Fear grabbed his chest as he grabbed the ropes to the net trying to get free. He hadn't his knife on him today, his satchel was left in the shipwreck he was currently staying in. The merman hadn't thought it would't be needed as these waters were very sparsely populated.

From where he hanged over deck he saw two humans and he felt the fear bloom out worse. But their clothes were not the templar armor, and by a second look there wasn't only humans there. He could see another mythical. He could see the pointed ears of an elf and his fear was mixed with hope that someone would understand him, that he wouldn't be brought back to his abusers.

There was a dwarf there too, but dwarves weren't counted mythical. They were still counted people. Why dwarves weren't considered mythical Anders didn't know. He supposed they looked too much like humans (only shorter) to be outlawed. He had heard from the wardens that far too much trade depended on Orzamar and if the dwarves would bar the gates, nothing'd come either in or out and that'd be a lost battle for the humans.

The elves however were not living in protective mountains. He had heard rumors about the still free elves deep in the forests calling themselves Dalish. Anders had even met one of them, Velanna. She was another grey warden who's entire clan had been killed and she had joined the wardens to be able to deliver vengeance upon the ones responsible.

This elf though was not Dalish, didn't have the right kind of tattoos. Instead, he had shock white hair and another kind of funny looking tattoos on his chin and hands and down of what Anders could see of his chest from the tight tunic he wore, a black tight fitting one with the three top buttons unbuttoned. The elf had beautifully green eyes, like the fresh green kelp Anders loved to curl up in when going to sleep in the nights. 

The dwarf didn't have a beard, which was odd. But he did show off an impressive amount of chest hair in his mostly opened shirt. A leather coat hung over his shoulders proudly and he had a crossbow on his back. Anders wondered who brought a crossbow on a ship on the ocean. Fishes were too quick to be shot with arrows and pirates brought swords to fights. 

The two humans were a male and a female. The man had an impressive dark beard and chest hair that showed through his loose unbuttoned white shirt. Well, it was buttoned sort of, two bottom buttons were buttoned. The woman had a white dress and a lot of shining trinkets on her that caught Anders' interest for whole three seconds before his eyes moved back to the white haired elf.

"Holy shit, it's a mermaid!" The bearded human said. 

"Hawke, that's a merMAN not maid." The dwarf said amused. "I think you can tell the difference."

"Oh isn't he just gorgeous." The woman said stepping a step forwards. Anders felt his entire face and chest heat up in a flush and he quickly looked away from her embarrassed. People didn't usually compliment him and thus he was't used to people complementing him like that. "Oooh, look at that! We've got ourselves a sweet little innocent blushing merman." She singsonged. 

Anders wished he could just curl up in a patch of seaweed to hide from the woman. He wasn't sure he liked her at all actually, compliments were nice but he didn't like the way she was eyeing him like a predator ready to pounce and bite him. He curled himself to his turquoise tail and closed his eyes behind the thin fin pretending they couldn't see him as long as he couldn't see them. He knew of experience that didn't work but it was all he could do.

"Come on Rivaini, don't tease the merman, we better get him down before he decide to be trouble." The dwarf said. 

"Fenris help me get him down carefully so he won't get hurt." The bearded man said as he began moving to the left.

Anders just glanced up the slightest, peeking over his tail. The white haired elf had a long braid that was slung over one shoulder, the other side was shaved into a soft looking stubble that Anders felt the urge to touch. He wanted to touch those shining white tattoos as well but he could for the moment reach neither. He uncurled slightly when the elf approached to get a better look at the tattoos. 

The elf took some cautious steps until he stood just slightly under him and Anders slipped a hand out through a mask of the net and reached to touch the elf who took a quick step back and glared. Anders quickly pulled his hand back with his eyes blown wide of fear that he had upset the pretty elf and they would hurt him for it. 

"Awh Fenris, he likes you." The woman said with a laugh.

"I don't like mythicals." The pretty elf that Anders assumed was named Fenris grumbled. 

Anders was confused over that statement. The elf was a mythical himself. Sure elves had just recently began being called mythicals, only five or seven years since the humans decided that they were a deviation that couldn't be allowed to run around free in the world, but Anders was still pretty sure that all elves were counted myticals. 

"Sweet thing,  _you_ are a mythical." The woman said reminding, confirming what Anders thought. 

"I am not. I'm barely even an elf." The elf grunted in annoyance. 

"Look Fenris, I know you're not a fan of them but.. He seem to like you and the rest of us risk get out fingers chewed off if we try to get too close to him. Just catch him and put him down on the floor and you won't have to touch him again, please?" The human man bargained. 

The pretty Fenris elf huffed in annoyance and crossed his arms over his chest glaring up at Anders and Anders in that moment wasn't sure what to do with himself. He didn't understand why the elf didn't like him, he didn't understand what he was doing up in the dry, and he didn't understand what the hell it was that they wanted from him. He didn't have anything to offer them except for some pretty seashells and some trinkets he'd found in old shipwrecks. 

"I don't like magic." The elf huffed in distaste. "Mermaids are known for their magic."

"Oh look at the guy. Blondie here doesn't look very dangerous, he just tried to touch you." The dwarf said. 

The elf gave up a dramatic sigh but stepped forwards again standing ready. Anders tried to twist around to get a better look but squeaked when the net began to lower him down, straight into strong arms and he locked eyes with the pretty elf. The elf carefully let him down on the deck of the ship and began untangling him from the net. 

Anders really did try to help out at first but the elf just grunted at him and grabbed his wrists to stop him as he was making a worse mess than to begin with. Anders sighed then carefully leaned his head to the elf's shoulder and held still to let him work. He hissed when the woman came over to help and shuffled closer to the elf. He didn't trust the humans on the ship and he didn't want them to get too close.

The woman in white dress held up her hands with a little laugh and the bearded human grinned. The elf grunted and continued his work, running his fingers all along Anders body in his work to get him free. Anders wiggled just slightly, sneaking himself into a bit more tangled when the elf was almost done with the net. He liked the attention, even if the elf cursed him for making it worse.

A final tug in the net and he slipped out of it flat on his stomach on the floor and he stretched out now that he could, arms up over his head and tail stretching out it's full expanse. Scales glittered and gleamed in the sun as always and he made a mrrping sound over the delight of being free again. 

"He's adorable. We should keep him." The woman said from her spot beside the bearded man. 

Anders carefully pushed himself up on his hands, swayed slightly before folding his tail slightly at the joint so he would get up from the floor. It was hard to keep balance like this but he had a much better view point and could figure the easiest way back into the water again. For her words however he sent the woman a glare and a hiss. They weren't allowed to keep him. 

"He's not a pet." The pretty elf grunted where he sat crouched down working on the mess of the net. "We toss him back in the sea and good riddance." 

The bearded man walked over and helped Fenris with the net. Anders tensed as he approached but relaxed when he stopped by the net. "Fenris is right Isabela, you'll have to suffice with just me and Fenris for your mythical collection of strays." The bearded man said with a laugh. Anders found new curiosity in that statement. The man looked to be a human, maybe he was wrong. 

"Awh, Hawke, sweet thing. A werewolf and an elf isn't exciting enough. He's a  _merman!_ Did you miss how I love the sea?" She asked in a dreamy way. "I've heard if a mermaid kisses you you can breath under water for an hour." She mused on. "Imagine the treasures we could find from shipwrecks in an hour."

Anders snorted at that. It was true, but only if the mermaid  **wanted** said person to be able to breath under water. He supposed he could tell them that, if he'd still be using his voice. Which he didn't not since after Karl... he shivered and shook his head silently to free him of the memory of his past lover.

"Well, this merman won't even let you near him Rivaini, and I heard a rumor werewolves get very jealous." The dwarf said amused from where he stood leaned to a barrel.

"We can let him out in the water by Hawke's island and spoil him until he likes me." She suggested. 

"That's not actually a horrible idea. The letting him out part, not the spoiling part. There's an underwater cave from the mansions cellars, we could let him out there and he'd be able to swim away when he want to." The bearded man said thoughtfully.

"That's like four hours away though, better get one of the crates filled with water and put him there so he won't dry up." The dwarf suggested. 

"Good idea, Fenris, could you pretty please carry him to one of the crates? I'll get you apple tarts when we get back." 

The white haired elf who had kept silent huffed in annoyance rolling his eyes. "There better be an entire batch." He grunted before he slid one arm behind Ander's back and the other his tail easily pulling him back up. Anders quickly wrapped his own arms around the elf's neck and let the elf carry him off to the crate. A part of him would let the pretty elf carry him to wherever he wanted without complaints.


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anders likes kisses and sometimes they just... happen! Out of the blue!

The good thing about being easily amused is of course the obvious, that it's easy to be amused by just about anything. It can be a funny cloud with the shape of something it shouldn't be, it could be a catfish snuggling up to you, it could be a jellyfish being nudged from it's designated goal. However being easily amused usually also meant being very easily bored.

At least Anders was very easily bored. Being stuck in a crate on a ship with nothing more to do other than stare at a clear blue sky or his tail, was not even a little amusing. He had already braided his short hair at least five different ways and let it back out since it was too short to keep in braids. Sometimes he'd tie it up with a leather cord but water had a way of making leather go bad.

Right now Anders was laying with his arms crossed popped up over the edge of the crate while his head laid on his arms, head lolling back and forth following the ship's gentle rocking from the sea. Isabela was steering, Hawke was mending some of his clothes, Varric was caring for his crossbow and Fenris was walking towards him. 

Anders felt his heart beat just a little faster of excitement as the pretty elf came closer. Anders made sure to keep his eyes locked at the other. But Fenris didn't even pay him a second glance as he clearly was only passing him by. Anders frowned at that. The sun stood high in the sky and he'd been alone in this cramped space for hours. He didn't like it one bit, at least someone could have the friendliness of sitting beside him and do whatever it was they were doing so he didn't have to be so alone. 

As Fenris walked by, Anders hauled himself halfway up out of the crate so his hips was resting against the edge, quickly nabbed Fenris' wrist and tugged him back towards the safety of his water. Fenris staggered by the surprise and nearly fell into the crate with him but in the very last second managed to put his free hand on the edge of the crate and stop his own fall.

Those tattoos glowed up and Anders realized why they seemed to hum of magic. Lyrium, there was lyrium in Fenris' skin. But there was something else he had to focus on than the shiny marks, the elf looked to be in a mix of terrified fury. The markings under his fingers where Anders still had his fingers around Fenris' wrist was burning and Anders quickly recoiled, pulling his hand back with his eyes blown wide.

"Don't touch me if you value your heart in your chest!" The elf hissed furiously at him. 

Anders had seen that flare of panicked fear in the elf's eyes though. Had seen how terrified he had been and that was the only thing that registered in his head and he felt incredibly guilty about being the cause of such strong emotion. The glaring elf began to pull back and Anders realized he wouldn't be given any other chances to apologize for scaring the elf as he had and he really didn't like the look of fright in his eyes. 

So, he reached up quickly and put both hands to the elf's cheeks and tugged his face down in level with his own and pressed his lips tenderly against the others while closing his amber eyes. The elf stiffened under the press of lips but held entirely still. That was a good sign right? Else he'd have pulled away, which he hadn't. Anders decided to be a bit bolder and moved his lips slightly, trying to stimulate Fenris to a response.

For several seconds nothing happened whatsoever. The elf didn't pull back but neither did he return the kiss and Anders was about to pull back from the kiss himself when suddenly the elf relaxed into it. Soft lips moved against his own and a lyrium etched hand stroke into his hair while they remained locked in that long heated kiss.

Now, Anders had kissed before, more than once but never had he felt it like the world was filled of sparkly fireworks from just kissing someone before. Never had he felt the urge to just give himself over, body and soul to someone because of a kiss. He had loved Karl, hell he still loved him. But this kiss, this kiss made Anders wonder if he should reevaluate his views of the world.

A loud wolf whistle from the upper deck came as Isabela must have spotted them and Fenris jumped back and Anders startled away the other direction wide eyed looking for the cause of the sound then blushed and sank down in the water while fearing it might evaporate around him because of the heated flush that was spreading all the way down to his scales. 

Fenris quickly got moving the other way and Anders sighed deeply where he hid his face behind his fin where he had folded it across his body to hide from the woman's whistling. He carefully touched his own lips and made a small whining sound. That kiss had been amazing, couldn't the stupid woman just have kept her whistling to herself? Just this once? 

Fenris had tasted of apples. He noticed that now that he wasn't so occupied by the overwhelming sensation of locking lips with him. Anders wondered if the elf ate a lot of apples or if it was just something he tasted of. The only reason he knew what apples were, was because Nathaniel had given him one once. Anders hadn't exactly liked it, to sour for him. Though the warden commander had easily turned the apples into tarts and Anders had liked those.

He now wished he could make Fenris apple tarts. Maybe he'd be less angry with him and perhaps even kiss him again. Maybe he could ask Hawke for help...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was thinking I'll make shorter chapters like this one and thus be able to update the fic more often! Hope you enjoy! :)


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fenris thinks over how he ended up being kissed by a mermaid and another unexpected kiss happens. 
> 
> This day is just full of surprises isn't it?

Fenris stood silently leaned to the reeling of the ship as he watched out over the sea and the sky. The sky was an ever shifting spectra of pinks, yellows, and blues as the night slowly descended over them. The sight gave off a painfully beautiful image where it mirrored in the calm water of the sea they sailed. Fenris amazed over how calm the sea was, no wind ruffling it, no fishes nipping for bugs causing it to ripple. 

A lot of people said it looked like magic. Fenris said it looked like nature. Hawke however used to smile every time Fenris said that, then he'd share his own thoughts on it. _"It is freedom Fenris, the sea, the sight of the sun beyond the horizon... all the times it's so pretty it'll ache your heart. My father used to tell us that it was freedom."_ Fenris believed him when he said that, believed it so deep it surprised him. 

There was no place where Fenris felt more free than upon the sea. Danarius may hunt him as ever he pleased, the templars may threaten him all they wished but on the sea he was a free man and. If the need to flee arose, they just had to set sail, Hawke's ship was the fastest little ship in all of Kirkwall. Fenris didn't have any control of the speed but his friends did and if they needed, they'd set full sail and sail into a storm just to shake pursuers. (Which they had done, twice. Damn Isabela.)  

However at sea there were as many danger as there was freedom. Sea monsters ready to devour ships whole, even fast ships. Nothing sailing could escape from a sea dragon who had it's aim already set. Sirens laid luring, ready to throw their lusty spells into song and drown them all. Some ships had a women with the for this reason but Hawke and his crew knew better, sirens didn't have to be female and Isabela would jump right into the water with them. Dwarves were the ones immune to their song.

There were also Selkies, a sort of seal that turned into beautiful humans when stepping up on land only to lure real humans into the water to make them their mates, killing them in the process as humans drown under water. There was the Enchantados, shape shifting dolphin that could make people do what they wished by spells and incantations, could make people mortally sick and trick them into odd deals that must be fulfilled.

Worse, (according to Fenris) were the ill willed nymphs. Men and women who looked almost elven, long ears and smaller than humans. Alas their eyes were pupil less, their fingers and toes slightly webbed for faster swimming and their skin always with a slight tint of color, anything between blue and green. The ill willed ones often found joy in changing reckless sailors for the wickedness of their hearts into creatures of the seas. 

Of course for all the bad things existing in the seas there were just as many on land. Nymphs existed in the forests, the water and the deserts and not all of them were ill willed. There had been one in Tevinter once. Fenris remembered her clearly, she had blessed one of the slave children in Danarius mansion with freedom if she could reach the ocean. The girl had thrown herself in the ocean and turned into a mermaid and swam away as fast as her fin could take her. 

Danarius had been far from pleased over that and had ordered the nymph captured and dragged back to the mansion. He had ordered Fenris to kill it and Fenris had moved to her to follow order. His hand had been plunged into his chest as webbed fingers had wrapped around his wrist and she had looked him in the eyes.  _"The sea is forgiving, one day it will come to you."_

Fenris had crushed her heart in his hand and watched the light of life flicker out before her body slumped to the ground. He had felt sick over killing her, felt even worse when Danarius began stripping the carcass of what he could use in rituals and other magical things.

Now another fish like creature had managed to crawl into his life and slipped in under his skin but in an entirely different kind of way then the nymph. He carefully reached up his left hand, silently traced his lips with the tips of his fingers. He couldn't help to think of the nymph's words as he stood there. Was this what she had meant? That the sea would throw an insane mermaid at him that would kiss him the way he'd never been kissed before? 

"Pondering life Fenris?"

Hawke's voice startled him out of his thoughts and he whipped around to look at his friend then sighed deeply and leaned against the reeling. He didn't need more teasing about that damned kiss. He wasn't even sure what to make of it himself, he didn't need them all to tease him for it happening. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Perhaps." He said quietly.

"Are you okay? I told Isabela to cut off with the teasing about the... uhm you know."

And Fenris did know, he knew damn well what Hawke meant and for a moment he was about to sneer at Hawke for it but in last second he realized Hawke didn't deserve his anger. An anger that wasn't actually an anger, merely a reflexive protection to not let anyone know how confused he was about this whole thing. Hawke had made the others stop tease and he should be grateful but... he just didn't really know how to show that gratitude, not right now when his emotions were reeling around his body like a wild storm. 

"I am fine Hawke." 

"Are you though? You look a little lost there and either that was a mind blowing kiss or something else happened. Do feel free to claim it was a mind blowing kiss! I do believe you." Hawke said with a little smile.

It could have been a tease, Fenris certainly would have counted it a tease if it would have come from anyone else. But he knew Hawke saying things like that was to conceal the concerns he really felt. He felt a small tinge of guilt over being the one causing concern in the other man, always felt bad when he said something hurtful to Hawke or made  him worry.

Fenris has a slight infatuation with Hawke. Had always had since the very beginning they got to know each other as Hawke helped him with a slaver attack years earlier. It wasn't strange he had this crush on him. Hawke was a handsome charismatic man who enjoyed flirting wildly with just about anyone and a lot of people fell head over heels for him after just a couple of minutes. 

"Will you stop pestering me if I say it was, only to get everyone to stop nagging me of that fish?" He asked with a deep sigh. 

"Fine! Fine, fine, sure. Sorry I brougt it up." Hawke said with an honest laugh and held his hands up.

Fenris grunted in reply and closed his eyes for a moment. The fact that the kiss could indeed have been counted mind blowing and something Fenris had never experienced before in his life was something he didn't intend to say out loud. Of course, that might be what kisses was meant to be like when they weren't forced on him by command...

"Hawke I... this will seem like a selfish and highly foolish request but... I just... can't.." 

He stroke his hand over his face and rubbed the heel into his eyebrow before taking a deep breath. This was utterly foolish and he should not ask, should not even consider the idea of this... but still, he needed to know.

Hawke's large warm hand came to rest on his arm in a silent _'I'm here for you'_ the way he was there for all his friends. Eyes locked when Fenris' opened his own green eyes, looking miserably into Hawke's almost yellow eyes. In another life.... maybe things would have been different. Hawke looked at him with worry but also in that friendly assuring way he always looked at Fenris while waiting as the elf took his time.

"Anything Fenris, you just have to ask, you know that."

Fenris took a deep breath then pushed closer to Hawke, tiptoeing while pressing his lips against the other male's. There was no frizzly feeling in his body, no heat rushing through him in desire or that feeling of everything being just utterly right that he'd shared with the merman. Fenris quickly pulled back and looked away from Hawke. Who just stood there staring. Dumbfounded. 

"I apologize. That will not happen again." Fenris said quickly.

"Fenris, I..." Hawke began but was interrupted by Varric.

"Shit! Templars!" 

The kiss was forgotten as they all set into action to hide anything magical, including the elf and mermaid at the ship.


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The templars catches up with them. Anders and Fenris must hide!

Anders hadn't realized he'd even fallen asleep curled up in the bottom of the small crate he right now inhabited. Not until strong hands plunged down to him in the water and grabbed him under his arms to pull him up. In the confusion of what happened his minds pulled the only reasonable conclusion that he was back in the circle and the templars were about to make him do something he probably didn't want to, or he was in the deep roads and a darkspawn was about to kill him.

Either option spurred on his reflexive defense. Now, mermaids weren't fighters, they didn't have claws or sharp teeth like sirens, they didn't have poisonous glands by the bottom of their fins or anything to harm others with. So Anders did what he could, began making loud protesting noises along with hissing and snarling. Instead of fighting he tried hard to trash away from his offender's hands, tried to claw bite and injure as far as a mermaid with the gift of healing could.

"Stupid merman! Stop that!" A deep voice snarled close to his ear. 

It wasn't a templar voice, it was a voice of someone he knew, a safe voice. The sudden realization made him look around and realize he wasn't in the circle or the deep roads. This was a ship. A ship with a crew that wasn't going to bring him back to the templars. It was a ship where one (possibly two, he wasn't sure about Hawke) of the crew members was a mythical like himself. It was the pretty elf he had kissed that was holding him under his arms, not a templar, not a darkspawn. 

He went lax in Fenris' arms and looked up apologetic at the pretty elf who just grunted and pulled him up enough to fit one arm behind his back and the other under his fin as he lifted him up from the crate. Anders in return wrapped his arms around the elf's shoulders and leaned his head to a comfortable shoulder. He wasn't sure what was going on but everyone was hurriedly moving things. 

Hawke passed them and Anders saw him tip over the crate he had been in to let the water wash out over deck and back into the sea through the draining holes. Confusion began settling in Anders' head, fear very slowly poking him. What was going on and should he be afraid? Maybe they had grown bored with him and planned to sell him, or maybe give him back to the templars... the idea made fear creep even further in him and he clung to Fenris' a bit tighter. 

Fenris just carried him with strong steps to the front of the ship and Varric (who held his Crossbow in ready) pushed away a barrel revealing a hatch in the floor. A hatch he pulled open to reveal a dark hidden area. The fear bloomed out with force, making a desperate sound in the back of his throat as he clung harder to Fenris.

He couldn't be put down in the dark again, that year had changed him, destroyed him, made him fear the dark and silence in so many ways that he couldn't even sleep in places of the ocean anymore that wasn't illuminated by the moon. 

Fenris didn't seem to care though as he crouched down and let Anders down on the floor beside the hatch. The elf was forced to pry Anders' arms away from him before the white haired elf slipped down into the dark. Anders flipped over to his stomach and tried to crawl towards the reeling using his arms and shifting his body like a water snake. 

Though again he was gripped, this time by Hawke who pulled him up from his path of escape. "Sorry, please don't bite my fingers off, but we really have to hide you." He said as Anders clawed on his arms to be let down. Instead Hawke simply carried him to the pitch black hatch where Fenris had jumped down.

Anders hissed then made a mournful half shriek as his tail was dipped down in the dark and he began wriggling trying to get away from Hawke as the panic was taking him over. Halfway down Fenris' strong arms grabbed his middle and suddenly it was a blue glowing light all over the little area and Anders stopped wiggling and instead watched. The elf was glowing, the markings was spreading a soft blue light in the dark, chasing it away effective as the moon and stars. 

Hawke let him go when he was mostly down in the dark and he slipped the last part down to Fenris who held his strong arms around his middle then the click of the hatch as it closed over their heads. Anders was still too occupied watching the soft blue glow radiating from the elf and wrapped his arms safely back around the elf's neck before leaning his head in and pushed his lips against the glowing lines on Fenris' chin to feel how they felt, the lyrium was sort of tickling. 

He would have used his fingers if they weren't occupied around Fenris' neck to keep him from sliding down. Fenris simply allowed it, one arm left Anders' middle as Fenris reached up to the hatch. Another soft glow had Anders look up curious as a rune glowed up under Fenris' hand and the seems of the hatch seemingly just vanished. Anders only spared it a moment's thought before interest was returned to Fenris and his pretty blue glowing marks. 

"You don't enjoy the dark do you?" Fenris said with his gravely voice. 

Anders shook his head and instead buried his head against the elf's shoulder, closing his eyes. They just remained there for a long while in silence. Heavy things were scooted over their head presumably to hide their hiding spot and Hawke's muffled voice could be heard calling out to the others as they kept shuffling around things. 

Fenris sighed slightly then slowly sat down. making Anders having to fold his tail to follow with the movement until he was uncomfortably curled up in Fenris' lap. The space around them was very narrow. Fenris was sitting on a one man mattress, and that  was really the only space there was in this hideout. The elf reached out and lit a couple of candles around them before the soft blue glow faded away. 

"There was a templar ship, so we have to keep hidden here until we know they're properly away. Can you be without water for a couple of hours?" 

Anders blinked then held up three fingers. If there was no blazing sun he wouldn't be uncomfortable until two hours had passed and it wouldn't be dangerous until four or five hours had passed. If there was blazing hot sun however, he could only hold out for one until his skin was crawling, two until it became dangerous. But here with no sun and no wind, he'd be able to make it comfortably for two hours. Fenris looked at his fingers, eyes reflecting green in the half dark and then nodded. 

"Are you comfortable enough?" Fenris asked next. 

Anders carefully shook his head. His tail was folded in a way threatening to be painful at any moment. He motioned down to the tail with his fingers and made a zigzag pattern in the air and scrunched his nose. Then he made a straight line and made a content little noise hoping the elf would understand what he meant by that. 

 

Fenris arched a brow then nodded and began shifting them around until they were laying down. Fenris on his back propped up to several pillows behind his head and Anders with his tail stretched out over Fenris' legs, his head flopped on his chest. It wasn't a space made for two men so the way they laid on was really the only way they both would fit down there if they didn't want to sit. 

Above them there was sound of boots and objects being moved around. Boots too heavy to be Hawke and his crew and Anders curled up slightly against the elf, trying to not shiver by fear but failed miserably. All he could do was to keep his eyes closed and pray while listening to the speedy beats from Fenris' heart that was the only tell that the elf was frightened as well. If Anders looked up at him Fenris just was a void of emotions. 

For a long while they just laid there listening to the muffled voices, thuds, scrapes and noises that came from above. Anders fingers tightly curled against Fenris' tunic as if that'd save him from harm. A loud scraping by the hatch had Anders shake like a leaf and his breath came out panicked and ragged. Strong arms wrapped around him and Fenris was whispering silently in another strange language. 

Anders didn't understand a word but the silent whispering and the strong arms helped to calm him and he curled better around Fenris. The scraping stopped and the boots left. Soon enough all boots left and the ship was left in utter silence except for the sound of the waves against the side of the ship. 

"We'll have to stay here for a while longer, in case they decide to check again in half an hour." 

Anders tilted up his head up looking at Fenris, then relaxed slightly but kept his ears strained. He wasn't ready to believe the templars had just given up. Not when it came to his luck. He flopped his tail slightly against Fenris' legs before uncurling his fist from Fenris' tunic and very apologetically began straightening out the crumpled fabric that had become a mess under his fingers.

When the fear began to settle Anders had time to think about how close they were to each other and he let one finger slip up to touch carefully over the white marks on the other's throat. He followed them down to what he could see through the tunic where the top buttons were opened. Fenris grunted before a lyrium etched hand moved Anders' own hand from the place while making a disgusted face. 

This whole thing would have been a lot more convincing if Fenris hadn't blushed and Anders' hadn't felt the elf's heart speed up a notch again. In delight Anders let out a little mrrping sound before shifting to be able to look at Fenris' face which ended with his lips close to his neck. Anders was tempted to place a kiss there, but he decided against it, it might not be the polite thing to do in a situation like this after all. 

Fenris sighed and closed his eyes, remaining quiet for such a long time that Anders hand closed his own eyes to take a nap when finally the elf spoke up. "Why did you kiss me?" Was the question asked. "I know you understand what I'm saying, so why did you kiss me?"

Anders blinked and then played with his fingers over what was visible of the elf's chest again blushing slightly. Because Fenris was hot? because Anders wanted to kiss him? Because he could?  

"Did you... the kiss, did you do it because you thought you had to? To make me like you so we won't hand you over to the templars?" 

Anders stared at Fenris. That was uncomfortably accurate now that it had been said out loud... but it wasn't **_just_**  that. It was more than just making them like him so they wouldn't give him away. Anders really thought that the elf was hot and handsome. He had kissed Fenris for some reason he wasn't entirely sure of. Fear? He had been scared because the elf was mad at him for almost pulling him into the water. 

But that wasn't _**it**_  either. The elf had been scared too, it had been brief but Anders had seen the panic and he hadn't liked how the elf looked when he looked scared. Anders had wanted to fix that, fix Fenris' fear along with his own, he wanted to make them both happy.

He slowly shook his head and looked at Fenris. 

"You don't have to kiss anyone, we'll get you to the sea again as soon as we can." Fenris said quietly.

Anders scrunched his nose then pinched him and shook his head again. He had kissed Fenris because he wanted, not because he thought he had to. That was something he knew now, after some very brief thinking.  

"Don't do that." The elf grunted and frowned. "Can you talk?"

Another shake of his head. Well, he could talk but didn't want to. Not after Karl.

"Okay. Do you have a name?" 

Anders quickly nodded and twisted himself around so he laid on his back. Head resting against Fenris shoulder and tail still over the other's legs as he lifted his hands up and began drawing mountains in the air hoping Fenris was looking at his hands. This was the best way to describe his name on. 

"Trees?"

Anders huffed and pinched Fenris' side shaking his head.

"Ouch stop that. Fine, Mountains?"

Anders quickly nodded and began making more gestures.

"Snow?"

Another little pinch and shake of his head.

"Ugh! Stop doing that! Cold?"

Another nod.

"Cold mountains? The Anderfells?"

Anders moved his hands together as if shortening the word.

"The Anderfells but shorter? The Anders?"

Again Anders moved his hands as if shortening the word. 

"Anders. Your name is Anders?" 

Anders twisted back around to look at Fenris and smiled wide while nodding eagerly. Fenris was okay at guessing he supposed. In comparison to many of his previous warden comrades Fenris was good. Anders was impressed with that. Fenris just chuckled lightly and nodded saying his name a couple of times more as if trying it out than actually wanting Anders anything.

Anders closed his eyes and smiled. Realizing that he loved the way his name rolled out of Fenris' mouth. 


	5. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fenris and Anders get's friendly and mermaid anatomy might be a problem... or is it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tag update!

Fenris laid in silence looking up in the roof of the little hideout he was currently occupying. He was wondering what he had done in life to end up where he had. Not the fact that he was cramped up in a tiny hiding place, that one wasn't very unusual since this was practically his bedroom on the ship. One never knew if Templars decided to creep up on them and for those times it was best he was hidden away instead of surprised.

What he wondered about was more as to how he had ended up as Hawke's friend in the first place. How he had ended up with the life of a pirate. How he had ended up with a merman currently having his head placed to his shoulder and tail slightly wrapped around his legs. Fenris didn't even like fish and here he was, enjoying the steady weight of the merman and his tail. 

He glanced down at the blond merman in question and sighed quietly reaching a careful hand into the blond tresses and stroke through the damp hair. Anders didn't smell like fish though. He smelled softly of salt, elfroot and something else that was pleasant in his nose instead of something that made him scrunch it in disgust.

He slowly raked his fingers through the blond tresses and untangled the hair carefully without pulling it. He hated whenever anyone pulled his hair and only tolerated Hawke's little sister when she was brushing his hair because she gave him doe eyes until he relented. He just now realized just how serene it was to stroke his fingers through someone else's hair and understood why Bethany kept asking to be allowed doing it. 

Anders made a content noise and shifted around some, presumably to get more comfortable. However there was an easy peck of lips to his throat from the merman. Fenris sighed deeply. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the kisses, the closeness of Anders' body to his own. Because he did, Anders gave off a soft comfortable tingling feeling that even made the lyrium in his skin stop aching for as long as they touched, as if Anders somehow pushed that ache away.

He just wasn't supposed to enjoy it the way he was. The moment he got too comfortable around it, that moment he would be weak for it. It wasn't like Anders was staying either, the moment they put him back in the water would be the last time he'd see the mermaid. Hell, Fenris wasn't even sure that kisses meant the same thing for Anders as they did for him. 

"Anders... stop.." 

The blond shifted and looked up at him with wide ember eyes and Fenris untangled his hand from the blond hair and pulled it over his own face as he closed his eyes. Maybe he was the one who continued to invite the merman to do these things, maybe being this close wasn't the best of ideas, maybe he should just keep his hands to himself and stop confusing Anders with his mixed signals of what he wanted.

What he wanted... what exactly was it that he wanted out of Anders? Did he even want anything out of the other man other than to keep both of them out of templar hands. Or did he want more? Did he want that kiss to happen again? He had tried to kiss Hawke and it had been nothing like kissing Anders, he hadn't felt light, his heart hadn't began fluttering in his chest, his body hadn't grown warm like with Anders.

He sighed deeply shaking his head. It was difficult to talk to someone who couldn't answer him. It was even harder to talk to someone when he didn't even know himself what it was that he wanted to have said. 

"Just... get some sleep. I will wake you when it's time." He said with a final deep sigh closing his eyes again. 

Anders made an unhappy little whine. Fenris wondered how it came the blond could make so many different whines and noises but not make words out of them. But it wasn't his to ask and the thoughts was soon pushed away by Anders grabbing his wrist pulling his hand back to the blond tresses. Fenris smiled slightly, the merman sure seemed to know what he wanted anyhow. He slowly began stroking the blond strands again and looked down at the slightly damp hair.

"Doesn't it get in the way when you are in the water?" He wondered aloud. 

The merman nodded at that and Fenris huffed reaching for one of the leather stripes he used for his own hair. He reached both hands up to Ander's hair and began working out the rest of the tangles before gathering up the hair in the front to the back of his head and tied it up neatly. He left what wouldn't get in the way loose and smiled tugging just the slightest to make sure the tie was keeping on place steadily.

"The leather won't break anytime soon, it's coated in oils to keep resistant to the saltwater." 

The shy smile that appeared on Anders was very endearing. The way Anders' reached one hand up to touch the leather cord carefully then buried his face against Fenris' neck. It made him smile. It also made him wonder how this mermaid had lived his life. If mermaids had families, if they lived alone, if anyone had ever been kind to Anders before...

He was again pulled out of his thoughts by Anders shifting his weight, crawling up over his chest, the tail slipped down between his legs and suddenly Fenris' blood began rushing downwards in the entirely wrong direction. Anders' hands were firmly placed to the mattress on each side of his chest and Fenris found himself staring up into Anders' amber eyes. 

"Anders, what are you-" 

He was cut off by lips against his own. Softly like the last time, careful and trying. He swallowed down his words as he kept entirely still. He shouldn't do this, should't want this, he shouldn't even consider kissing back. Anders carefully began moving his lips, like last time trying to make Fenris to kiss back. Fenris should be pushing Anders away from him but... maker he didn't want to. 

He relented into the soft movements of Anders' lips, eyes fluttered shut as he gently put one of his hands on a scaled hip while the other stroke gently over the nape of Anders' neck. It should be strange to touch someone who had scales instead of skin, but instead he let one finger follow the edges of a scale with interest. Anders made a very languid roll of his hips at this movement, grinding down against Fenris' own hips and the half hard length in his leather breeches. 

Fenris' lips parted in an involuntarily gasp over how good it felt. Tongue, not his own, was eagerly slipped into his mouth. He couldn't do other than move his own tongue in return to get a better taste of Anders. It was ridiculous how good this all felt, as if they just mashed together into one being, as if they were meant to be doing this, being with each other and no one else. 

Anders rolled his hips down again and this time Fenris shifted right back up against Anders tail with a moan to the kiss that mingled with a soft needy noise back from the merman. Anders nipped at his lower lip shifting and folding his arms to lean to his elbows instead to let their chests meet and Anders let his hand down on Anders' hip explore over the scales and squeeze slightly where normally a person had his ass. 

As Anders let out a breathy moan into the kiss Fenris realized he really had no idea how mermen worked in this department. He figured that somehow mermaids must mate or there wouldn't be more mermaids would there? But he had really no idea how things worked in mermaid anatomy, from what he could feel Anders' fin was covered entirely by scales, rubbing his cock against that most likely wouldn't be overly comfortable...

He reluctantly pulled back from Anders' lips and opened his eyes looking into Anders eyes that were nearly black by want and need. At least he didn't need to worry about Anders not actually wanting this as much as he did, but there was still the problem of not knowing what to touch of Anders body and what would go where exactly.

"How does..." he looked down towards the tail and brushed his fingers against the side of the tail. 

Anders hummed on some soft tune before smiling big and pushed Fenris' back to the pillows. Fenris laid back and watched as Anders unbuttoned his shirt with one brow arched, wondering if the mermaid was about to show him how and where to touch Anders. However Anders slipped down on his body, nipping, licking and kissing over his chest while pushing the fabric aside and Fenris groaned leaning his head back against the pillows. 

Anders quick tongue twirled around a nipple before teeth came down nipping at his flesh. He no longer was half hard but full mast trying not to be too loud about it. A feat that proved damn difficult over how Anders was sucking tender spots over his chest and sides, without a doubt leaving marks as quick fingers was unlacing his pants and tugging them down. 

Fenris desperately wanted to see what Anders was doing and propped himself up leaning against his elbows looking down at the merman who was playfully teasing the skin just above where he really wanted it with little nips and kisses. Without a doubt, Anders had done this before because he seemed to find every little nerve that made pleasure coil through his stomach hotly and down between his legs. 

His head lolled back when Anders' tongue slowly raked over his shaft, fingers wrapping delicately at his base and then tongue lapped the head of his cock and everything went blank in his minds except for Anders' touch. He reached one hand down stroking through the blond tresses of Anders' hair as that tongue kept playing him like a fiddle

That of course was also when there was a scraping from above and the hatch was pulled open. "Not about to happen, you know that Bela. Fenris we're ther- oh shit Fenris I'm so..." 

"Hawke!"


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the interruption and the last kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this has taken it's time. Work and life is taking up a lot more time than I'd like and I only have time to write very little when I get home but yay for weekends right!? And Lunchbreaks!

Anders had never seen an elf as pretty as Fenris before, or anyone, any race as pretty as Fenris before for that matter. He had never heard an elf with such a deep rich voice or with such green pretty eyes either. Neither had he seen anyone with lyrium branded in under his skin before like this, or at all. 

On one hand, he could only guess what kind of agony Fenris must have been in obtaining the lyrium etchings. On the other, they were very pretty and very shiny when they were glowing, especially in the dark. Anders had a thing for shiny objects and bright lights, it was a merepeople thing actually. Anders hadn't met a merman or a mermaid in his life who didn't get distracted by the sun reflecting prettily in some scales or a shard of glass on the ocean floor. 

He had been delighted over being allowed to touch the pretty elf exactly how he wanted to touch him, namely with both hands _and_  his tongue. Not that it was _just_ the lyrium that intrigued Anders. Those well fit defined planes of a muscled chest that came on display for him when he unbuttoned Fenris' shirt made him all kinds of interested. 

Fenris might not know merman anatomy and to be fair Anders hadn't let Karl know about how he worked either. Not until they had been intimate a couple of times with Anders getting to touch Karl all the ways he wanted. Even if Fenris didn't know how Anders' worked, Anders sure knew elven anatomy worked. People with legs most usually had very easily discovered genitalia, hidden between their legs under a layer or two worth of clothes.

Anders had just got to the part where he was having Fenris' cock in his mouth teasing the head with taunting licks and nips, sucking just enough to be maddening, (or so he'd been told). Fenris tasted good everywhere, his lips tasted of apples, his body tasted of salt and the sea and the taste of Fenris' precum made Anders' lower regions tighten and harden in the urge to mate.

Of course that's also when Hawke decided it to be a good idea to disturb them by opening the hatch to their hiding place. Not by purpose, of that Anders was rather certain, but it still made Anders yelp by surprise and pull his lips away from Fenris' cock, staring around in bewilderment over the interruption until realizing it was only the bearded human and not a templar there to harm them.

"Not about to happen, you know that Isabela. Fenris, we're ther- oh shit! Fenris I'm so-"

Him and Karl had been caught once, that had resulted in Karl being sent away and Anders punished. With a whip. However right now, Hawke seemed as flustered as himself. The fear that had clutched his chest like ice the moment the hatch had opened, ebbed out. He buried his face to Fenris hip to hide the blush that was spreading hotly all over his skin that wasn't covered in scales.

Fenris had began to curse, loudly, in another language, one that Anders didn't have a clue of what it was but it sounded rather pretty. Anders peeked up but quickly put his face back against Fenris' hip. That may not be the best place to hide his face due to embarrassment, but it was the only spot he could manage from this position since he moving would most likely draw attention. The theory of staying entirely still and hope no one saw him was a very comforting one.

"Hawke!" Fenris snapped and Anders jumped by the harsh note in the elf's voice but relaxed at once knowing it wasn't aimed at him.

"Makers breath! I am so sorry!" Anders could hear the flush in Hawke's voice even if he didn't look up at the man in question.

"Hawke! Get lost." Fenris grumbled. 

"Sorry!" Hawke said with a faint note of amusement before the hatch slammed closed.

Anders kept his heat blooming face tightly against Fenris' hip a while longer for good measures. He could hear Fenris' head thumped back among the pillows again even if the elf's body was tense for quite some time. All that was heard around them was the muffled sound of the sea lapping against the ship's side. There was no idea to continue what they had started, the mood was rather ruined and Fenris had soften up as much as Anders himself had by now. 

"I'm going to kill him." Fenris mumbled with a groan. 

Anders dared a little peek up at the elf again. Fenris was hiding his face under his arms and Anders carefully began shifting Fenris' pants back up over his flaccid cock before worming himself upwards like a seal on land and didn't stop until he was chest to chest with Fenris, laying his head over his laced fingers resting on Fenris' chest.

Fenris didn't move other than the calm heaving of his chest under Anders' own, he might would have been worried he'd be too heavy for an elf if he hadn't already been carried around like a maiden in distress and seen Fenris' most impressive muscles.

He looked at Fenris' chin, his lips and the soft lyrium lines. That was the only parts of Fenris' face visible under his arms. Anders smiled, pushing forwards as good as he could without actually moving and kissed Fenris' chin with a tiny little chu of a kiss, trying to make Fenris smile again. He liked smiling the most because Fenris was very good at it.

Fenris gave up a little sigh, but those lips _did_  curl into a smile so Anders happily did it again. Fenris slowly slipped his arms from his own face. One wrapped gently around Anders middle while the other lyrium etched hand stroke through his blond hair minding the cord the elf had tied in earlier. It made Anders want to purr, like one of the catfishes he liked to pet whenever he saw them.

Fenris didn't say anything for a long while, nor did Anders. Fenris' lyrium etched fingers stroke through his hair and he slipped one hand out from under his chin and carefully stroke over the lyrium lines, tracing them over a shoulder, down a pectoral muscle, up Fenris' neck and chin while admiring the white lines against perfect dark skin.

Fenris sighed silently. "We should get out to the others, we're here, the sea is waiting for you." Fenris said silently but didn't stop stroking through Anders' blond tresses. 

Anders looked away from Fenris' face and instead focused on a patch of dark skin of Fenris' shoulder, letting his fingers explore every inch of the patch. If they were there it meant he would be free to go, which meant no more pretty lyrium etched elf for him to touch. He wasn't sure that was what he wanted. The feel and Taste of Fenris in his mouth had been intoxicating, made his entire body tingling in anticipation for more and he still wanted to get apple tarts for Fenris...

He curled his tail around Fenris' legs before burying his face against the elf's chest and arms wrapping nimbly around the other's torso. A silent plea not to having to leave, not to be let go, a plea for Fenris to stay with him.

An impossibility he knew. Elves couldn't breath under water, a life with this elf would never work because Fenris belonged to a world in which Anders didn't. Fenris belonged to land while Anders belonged to the sea and never before had such a thing hurt hurt more than it did now.

With Karl, it hadn't been the same, they had both been in the same circle without the possibility of leaving, without the call for freedom. Anders had lived in a tank, always close by to Karl, it hadn't been perfect, but it hadn't been terrible to be allowed to be near the other in stolen moments. Now however he was free, knowing he couldn't live in a tank anymore than Fenris could live in a bubble under the water. 

For a far longer while they just laid there doing nothing, saying nothing. Just spent what precious little time they had together until Hawke knocked and called out they really should go now. It would be sunrise in just an hour or so and smuggling two mythicals through the city was easier done in the dark of the night, hidden away from people who might call down templars. 

They shared a kiss, a last stolen moment before reality could tear them apart. Anders tried to ignore the pain that was crushing his heart but he wasn't sure this was a wound that would ever heal.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (so obviously this isn't the end, I have some few more chapters left. If any of you have read Time fluctuations of this series you know I'm a sucker for happy endings)


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fenris misses Anders and the templars are acting very strange.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! I've a sudden wave of new ideas for this one! It is going down a dark angsty path for my poor babies but if they just find each other again I'm sure they will make it! If it isn't already too late... I certainly hope not. 
> 
> Anyway, Anders will appear again in any chapter now I promise!

Two weeks had gone since they had fished up the blond merman. Two weeks since Fenris had shared an intimate afternoon with him and then seen him return to the sea where Fenris could not follow. 

Before Anders left, Fenris had given the blond merman his belt, it had several pouches that Anders could fill with whatever a merman filled his pockets with and on the back of the belt there was a holder for a knife, (that Hawke very kindly had attached one of his own daggers in since Anders nor Fenris had one). The belt had fitted really nicely on Anders' hips and Fenris felt more at ease now that he knew that Anders had a form of defense in case anything would happen.

About four days after they had seen Anders back into the sea, a storm had broke out over the seas of Kirkwall. It had been obvious that it hadn't been a regular storm. A regular storm wouldn't come out of a blue sky or been so vicious in such a large area. The storm had been all thunder and lighting lightning along with a heavy rain for two days straight which had forced them to retreat to Kirkwall to wait it out. 

After the storm, things just hadn't felt the same for Fenris. There was a strange feeling in his chest, like if something in that storm had torn something away from him, something he couldn't even grasp what it was. After it he simply couldn't find it in himself to make jokes, couldn't make himself laugh over things he'd usually laugh at, didn't feel like talking with his friends or really do anything anymore.

Best described: There was a void in his chest and he didn't know how to fill it or what to fill it with.

He had tried to explain it to Donnic once. Donnic was a friend he had made without the help of Hawke and they sometimes played wicked grace in Fenris mansion. Donnic had suggested maybe he had caught the flue or something, which Fenris in turn had figured it was as good as reason as any. That elves were resistant to sickness didn't mean they were immune, so it was possible, even if unbelievable. 

This night however was the usual gang's wicked grace night. That meant drinking, chatting and playing cards in Varric's suite at the hanged man with Hawke and the whole gang of misfits. 

The hanged man was a shabby bar that didn't really care if people were mythicals or not. As long as they payed in coin mythicals were as welcome as the humans, unofficially of course.

If the templars came nosing around for mythicals they disavowed any servings to anything but humans and dwarves. Luckily the templars didn't raid establishments very often. Knight Commander Meredith had pretty much pulled every mythical into the gallows the moment they stepped a foot into Kirkwall and the ones remaining free were very good at hiding and running at first sight of templar.

Tonight they were all there, Hawke, Varric, Aveline, Isabela, Sebastian, Merrill and himself. Merrill got here hidden under a overly large sunhat that Isabela had gifted her to hide the points of her ears. Fenris had his hood attached to his clothes that easily covered the ears, the white hair and put his face in shadows. Hawke was a werewolf so he didn't look mythical unless he was in a progress of shifting and thus didn't need to sneak around. The rest of them were humans (or in Varric's case a dwarf) and didn't need hiding to get there. 

Isabela was, as always, popped up in Hawke's lap, stealing his drinks with her breast in the height of Hawke's face. Hawke looked far to content for the complaints he was making about her stealing his drinks to sound genuine. Isabela just began singing on a bawdy song about a whore and a sailor on the dockside when Hawke finally tried to reach for his drink that was in the other rouge's hands. 

Varric joined into the cheery singing and Merrill happily clapped her hands. Usually Fenris would have joined in too, just to tease Sebastian who looked horrified over the singing. But the void in his chest was still there and Fenris didn't feel like singing, barely felt like talking either, but he knew that being with his friends made things just a little bit easier in the end of the day and the look on Sebastian's face just made the tiniest of curls shape on his lip. 

Of course, just as Fenris was beginning to feel a little better, as if things just might be turning back to the normal and the void could be filled by his friends. A loud crashing sound came from the main floor of the bar, a pitched scream and loud shouts was heard and everyone around the table got up to their feet grabbing for their weapons. 

Hawke was the first t o the door just pushing it up the slightest to find out what the fuzz was about. No need to rush into things without knowing what one was rushing into. After a very short time he slowly pulled the door closed and locked it before turning around, paler than he had been just before. 

There was a few things that would have Hawke back out of helping in a fight. One of them were if the fight was stupid and they wouldn't be able to get out of it alive. The other reason would be templars, and only templars would give that look of worry on Hawke's face.

"It's ser Alrik." Hawke said grimly. "Something is not right, they're separating the nymph from the two elves because he's a mage... We have to get our of here." 

Fenris noticed how Hawke's worried eyes fell on Merrill, the only mage in the room. If they were dividing mages from other mythicals something was strange and he wasn't sure he liked it. He wasn't fond of Merrill because of her blood magic and naive thoughts about her blood magic, but he still didn't want to see her in the hands of the templars. Especially not a templar like ser Alrik.

Varric was already scooting around furniture aside from a hatch in the floor before pulling it open. The new passage way lead to a very dark path of stairs that went down somewhere deep underneath them. Fenris hadn't seen this hatch before but he had a feeling he knew where it lead, just like where every path downwards lead in this city.

"This leads to the old Darktown. Well, it did, before the place flooded eighty years ago. However you can still swim to most of the old estates and use them as exits." Varric explained and Fenris shivered.

Darktown was a water maze with strange working currents with decades worth of filth washing around. It was hard to navigate in and even harder to navigate to air pockets while being down there. It also lead straight out to the ocean and Fenris would prefer not to be eaten by sharks or sea creatures. Of course, now the option was to wander past one of the worst templars in Kirkwall or take a swim.

"I can't swim." Merrill said with fear in her voice.

"I'll help you." Hawke said calmly. "I think it'll be best if I go too, they already have their suspicions against my family since they know my father was a Nymph."

"Yeah, the rest of us will stay here. Not even Alrik can actually do anything to a dwarf when the guard captain and choir boy here is around." Varric said and nodded.

"Try to figure why they are raiding the place and I'll make the preparations for getting Mother and the twins away from here in case of emergency."

"Will do Hawke." Varric said and nodded. 

The door banged behind them and Fenris quickly slipped down in the dark walking down the cold stone steps soon followed by Hawke and Merrill. Behind them the hatch was closed and Fenris allowed his brands to flare up to grant them some light, gritting his teeth by the pain but ignored it as always. It was the only light they had and in the water they would without a doubt need some kind of light. 

The moment he stepped into the water his heart clenched over the sudden wish to have Anders there with him. Having a merman guide them would have made sure that they'd end in the right place. But Anders was gone and hadn't showed his face for two weeks... he wasn't going to show up now just because Fenris so desperately desired him to do so. 

He pushed the bitter taste of loss away as they all began swimming. No point in dwelling on an impossible fantasy.

 


	8. Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meredith is insane. Fenris mansion is starting to look like a mythical hotel and Bethany is in danger.

The following couple of weeks the templar raids became more and more intense. People's homes were searched, bars, shops, any hideout that could possible hide a mythical was thoroughly searched and raided.

Fenris mansion had been searched twice. Templars had barged in once mid day and once in the middle of the night. They would most likely have turned the place upside down if it hadn't already been turned upside down, they even let the corpses remain. Luckily, Fenris knew how to keep hidden, his time on Seheron had taught him how to squeeze into impossible small hiding places or stay hidden above ground.

One of the raids he had been clinging between two roof beams while the templars had been stomping around underneath him. The other timee he had squeezed himself into a crack in the wall where the templars and their heavy plates could not squeeze through to search. After that they simply seemed to have deemed the place deserted and stopped searching there.

Merrill however had not fared as good as him. She had barely managed to escape by making wines grab the templars that had broken into her little home while she ran for all she was worth.

Ever since that incident she had stayed in one of the rooms of Fenris' mansion. He didn't like to have a blood mage under his roof but Hawke had asked and he still didn't want to see Merrill in the hands of the templars and her staying with Hawke would be too risky, especially since he already had Orana living in the Hawke's estate.

The day the notion that dwarves were now counted mythicals was the day Hawke decided Kirkwall was not safe for his family anymore. Bethany was a nymph, he was a werewolf and even if Carver and Leandra were both humans Hawke didn't want them to get in trouble for hiding mythicals.

Hawke owned an island just outside Kirkwall's waters, a smaller island with a small forest on, a nice little sand beach and a small mansion. It was enough of land to provide with vegetables growing in the garden and the beach was excellent for hunting seafood. However since this new madness started papers was needed to get in and out of the city and Hawke needed a permission slip from the viscount office to be allowed to take his ship from the docks to leave Kirkwall.

Since Varric was now a mythical and the hanged man got raided every other day Varric had taken refuge with Fenris in the mansion, along with Orana. So, these days Fenris' mansion was more like a mythical hideout than just an abandoned mansion. To his own surprise he found that he didn't mind that as much as he'd thought. 

Daytime Varric would gather information in his own shady ways, Orana would make them food and clean while Merrill tended to the mushrooms in the floors. In the nights they would play wicked grace together, Isabela, Hawke, Sebastian and Aveline would come over and update them on what was going on out there while they were hiding out in the mansion. 

Today him, Varric, Merrill, Isabela and Sebastian was sitting in Varric's corps free bedroom playing wicked grace while chatting pleasantly about things that had no importance whatsoever. Isabela and Sebastian had brought pies from the markets, the ones with fruits that Fenris liked the most and the day seemed to be one of the few better ones. 

Until the door flung up violently by a pale Hawke who looked as if he had just seen another horde of Darkspawn marching into Kirkwall. Aveline was following him looking grim as if she was about to march into war. Something was obviously wrong and Fenris solemnly hoped that there was no templars standing down in the main hall ready to take them away. 

"They burn them." Hawke said with a shaky voice as he slid down beside Isabela and grabbed the bottle of rum she had been sipping from. 

"Who are _they_ and who'm do they burn?" Sebastian asked confused. 

Aveline began pacing back and forth in the room restlessly with her grim face still looking like a warrior that was only waiting for the order to march. Fenris locked his eyes on Hawke feeling dread spread in his stomach. If people were getting burned he had a strong guess it wasn't the humans who were getting burned but rather the mythicals. 

"Everyone with magical abilities... I was just heading to the Viscounts office to get seneschal  Bran to sign my papers when I heard Meredith raging on about mythiclas as always... then..." Hawke's voice broke and he took a deep swig of the rum as if trying to drown away what he had seen and heard.

"They had a nymph and a blond woman over two pyres and lit them. There was nothing we could do." Aveline said hard.

"They... surely they cannot have done so. The chantry would never..." Sebastian began but Hawke cut him off.

"The orders are from the Divine." 

Isabela pulled Hawke closer, for once so Hawke could lean his head to her shoulder instead of to her bodice. This wasn't a situation to joke away if magical beings was actually being burned on pyres. Fenris knew some mages that deserved that fate but now he also knew magical creatures who didn't deserve that fate. Bethany for example, not even Merrill... not a certain blond merman. 

"Is Bethany...?" Sebastian began slowly, very poorly hiding his worry. 

"Safe, hidden away in the mansion. We need to get her from Kirkwall as soon as we can." Hawke said taking a deep breath.

"We won't be able to talk to Bran until next week." Aveline said tiredly. "And we need his name on the paper to be allowed to even leave port." 

"They will burn two people with magical ability every other day until they have burned them all." Hawke said when his lips left the bottle.

"Shit... we have to do something." Varric said and put his cards away. "They won't stop at magical beings. When there are no magicals left they will burn all mythical until there is nothing but humans left." 

"There is nothing we can do, not yet. Not while Bethany is still in Kirkwall, Merrill you should come to the island as well. You are a mage and you won't be safe here." Hawke said and shook his head.

Merrill nodded where she sat curled up on herself. Fenris sat silently in deep thought. The rest of the day they pretty much just sat there in silence. No one had much to say but no one wanted to be alone right at the moment. They sat there long into the dark before people went back to their own homes and Fenris went to his own room.

Long into the night Fenris sat in his bedroom thinking with a bottle of wine in hand. Usually he wouldn't drink much alone. If Danarius or the templars came he needed to be sharp and ready for the attack. But tonight he couldn't get the thought of charred skin and scales crumbling on a long turquoise tail licked by fire, blond hair burnt off and silent screaming. 

That image haunted him to bed and into his nightmares, he just hoped Anders was safe wherever he was. Though the void in his chest provided him with the feeling that Anders wasn't as safe as he wished.


	9. Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rescue mission that can't possibly go wrong! Or maybe it can, things very often goes wrong when you don't think things through don't they?

Fenris had noticed before how things never seemed to go smoothly in Kirkwall. As soon as something did for once, something else would happen that would throw them three steps back again. It was as if Meredith had managed to get the city itself to fight Hawke's progress along with any progress by anyone associated with the man did. 

Not that Hawke ever gave up though. Whatever was thrown at him he'd step up from the ashes twice as strong and ten times as determined to make a difference in the city of chains.

Through his determination to put his family in a safe spot in life, Hawke had fought to get all the way up to Kirkwall nobility, even if he himself was a pirate with no standing anywhere other than on his own ship. Hawke had managed to gain enough money to assure his family's well being on that expedition  with Varric. He had reclaimed the old family estate and given the Amell name back to his mother and siblings and for it all kinds of shit had come his way no doubt on Meredith's behest.

This time Hawke had managed to obtain the proper papers he needed for permission to set sail again. Papers that were neatly signed by seneschal Bran himself without Varric even having to forge them. However when Hawke got back home to the estate that same day he had found his mother in tears and Carver on the path of waging a war. 

Templars had came to their estate with a permission of searching it from both Meredith and grand cleric Elthina. They had found and grabbed Bethany, dragged her off to the gallows as a mythical, a mythical with the power of magic and thus destined for the pyre. Carver and Leandra had been powerless to stop it, if they had argued they would all have ended up in the gallows for harboring her, burned along with her for protecting a mythical with magical abilities. 

That same afternoon Hawke and Carver had barged into Fenris' mansion, startled everyone nearly enough to get arrows flying at their asses as they all always were ready to fight back against templars would the need arise. Instead, Hawke had explained the situation and begged them for help to get Bethany back from the gallows so they could sail her away from Kirkwall. 

That's the reason why they were here now, wading through the sewers with nothing but half of a plan on how to free Bethany. The plan was clear on how they would get into the gallows. There was a ladder up to an old storage room according to the convenient map Varric had managed to extract from the coterie agents. However Varric had managed to get it he didn't say and Fenris guessed someone was dead.

While Fenris, Hawke and Varric took the path through knee deep (ass high in Varric's case) of sewage, Isabela, Merrill and some carta dwarves was to make a very loud boom with a couple of runes from Sandal. That would hopefully clear out the gallows on a lot of templars that otherwise would get in their way. Hopefully being a key word, they had no idea if this would even work.

Fenris wasn't overly happy about this plan. It wasn't that the start wasn't good (part from the fact that he had sewer water to his knees), it was stealthy, direct and would get them to the right place. What concerned him was that the boom better be very loud to draw away half the order, Isabela and Merrill better run very fast to not get caught and then his main concern that they had no plan on how they intended to get out of the gallows again afterwards. 

"This should be it." Varric said as they came to a halt by a ladder and pulled Fenris out of his thoughts. "Should lead up to the storage room. My contact claims it's very rarely used."

"How certain are we that your contacts are correct?" Carver huffed annoyed. 

"About fifty fifty, junior. Elf, you better go first, you have a big sword and best eyes if it's dark, which it should be if it's no one there." Varric said cheery. 

Fenris just grunted at that. What wouldn't he do for Hawke who'm he owed so much? Without Hawke he would very likely not still remain a free man. Danaius or the templars would have eventually caught up with him without all help he had from his friends. Fenris wouldn't even _have_  any friends, something akin to a life as he had now.

And this, this was what friends did for each other, helped them out of tricky situations. Also, of all mythicals with magical abilities Fenris had met (aside from Anders, who'm he had nothing left from except for an empty void in his chest) she was the one he trusted and liked the most.

Fenris easily climbed the ladder and up into the dark room. Another good thing about not wearing boots, he always felt exactly where he could step or not. Up in the room above their heads it took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the gloom. He could see old weapon racks, crates and empty cages but no people, neither templars nor mythicals, so he called up the others while searching for a torch so the others could see in the dark without falling over things with a loud commotion.

When he found nothing he just sighed deeply and let his lyrium flare to life while fiddling lightly with the braid over his shoulder. It was painful to activate them, well, they were constantly painful but when they were activated they were burning more painfully than usual. The only time he'd felt nothing at all in them was when Anders had laid on his chest...

He quickly shook that thought away as he watched the others stumble up from the sewer entrance, calmly illuminated in blue by the glowing pain in his skin. Hawke first, then Carver and then Varric.

"Why is it so damn cold in here?" Varric asked as he came up and closed the exit after them so it wouldn't be discovered. 

"Because they assume with all that hair, dwarves are immune to cold." Hawke quipped with a grin.

"Well, my chest hair is quite impressive." Varric agreed and patted his chest. 

"Are you two bloody well done? We have to find Bethany!" Carver hissed. 

Fenris listened to the others without input. He wondered if Carver knew that Hawke deflected serious situations with jokes as a way of handle stress and pressure, or if that just went straight over the younger Hawke's head. Every time Hawke joked when things got too tense Carver would practically explode of anger and bitter remarks to get his brother to quit it. 

Of course, Fenris understood Carver as well. Both Hawke and Bethany were mythicals, just like their father had been before them. He knew growing up Hawke and Bethany had been taught by their father how to live with what they were, while Carver, he was left the only child without any abilities other than the ones of a regular human.

Fenris could see where the bitterness of Carver came from, being the only one not special, always being second in importance since the other two had to learn to live with what they were. Not that Fenris understood the actual wish to be a mythical though, he was one and he often wished he wasn't. But he could understand and relate to the wish of having been born different to fit in.

Fenris had lately (as Carver and Bethany had officially turned adults) offered to spar with the other warrior if they had a moment over. Carver masked his excitement well, but Fenris was an expert on reading faces, slaves were required to be able to read their masters faces to follow their whims and wishes sometimes without being told. So he noticed pretty much everyone's facial expressions and read them better than he could read letters, which he was terrible at since no one taught him until Hawke came along.  

Now however it was frustrating to hear Carver blow out the only mean Hawke had for handling the situation. Fenris also saw Hawke prepare himself for what would most likely be a biting retort and Fenris'd prefer it if there wouldn't be a loud argue between the brothers that would pull the templars attention. 

"We should move on." He said to them reminding.

Hawke looked up confused for a moment then slowly nodded and they were off again.

The hallway outside was lit by torches and the dying light of day, so Fenris could let the lyrium fade out as the others were no longer risking falling over things due to the lack of light. He followed Hawke and Varric who was trying to navigate with the help of the map, at first trying to keep track of what stairs they took and what lefts and rights they made. 

After a while however, Fenris simply lost count on how many lefts and rights they had taken in the maze and simply relied on Hawke and Varric to get them back out again when time came for it. Instead he put his focus on listening to sounds of clanking armors, heavy boots or other such things that could be the tell of templars. 

They had to hide in empty rooms and closets about four times before they found the room Varric was certain Bethany should be in. The door was locked, a rather nasty lock even, though, for Varric, it was as he said _"Easy as pie."_ Which Fenris did not find easy. He had tried to make a pie and had almost burnt down his mansion. 

The room they walked into had enough torches around to be nearly as bright as the corridor outside even with it's lack of windows. The room was filled with tanks of various size, some had strange fishes in them, others had seemingly nothing but water. One had a small strange looking octopus with almost humanlike body, another had salamanders in them which of one hiccuped out a little bolt of fire as a third had a nasty looking fish with sharp teeth and a bright light hanging from an antenna. 

"Keep from the edges, I have a feeling things in here... aren't friendly..." Hawke said quietly as he avoided a stain of blood on the floor that ran from the side of a larger tank, half dried but still wet enough to stain if touched.

Fenris leaned against a pillar looking silently at the tank with the half dried blood. The others went on to search for Bethany in the other tanks, or any clues to find Bethany. Since they were searching by reading on the descriptions of what was in the tanks Fenris wouldn't do much help anyway, and he was feeling... strange. 

Where he had grown used to have a void in his chest ever since that storm some weeks past he now felt a strange pull. As if there was an invisible rope tied to him and it was being pulled gently, straight towards the large tank he was staring at. It felt like magic, out of his control but without the usual pain any magic had on him.

He didn't like it at all, it simply scared him.

He stared at the tank, ears flattened back like an aggravated cat when there was another pull of the invisible bond and before he was even aware what he was doing he had moved the few steps over and dipped down his hand into the murky water, flickering his fingers slightly by the surface. It wasn't until Hawke gasped out _"Bethany."_  That he even realized what he was doing and quickly retreated his hand back out of the water. 

He glanced over as Hawke and Carver helped their slightly blue pale sister out of her glass confinement. Hawke wrapped the coat he had been wearing around her and kissed on her hair as he held her in a tight hug. Even Carver was smiling and delivering hugs without complaints to his sister, he didn't even complain about the cheesy joke Hawke told. 

Fenris smiled slightly as he leaned his hip to the glass and crossed his arms. Ignoring the pull to reach in and touch the water again but failed to realize how at ease he was standing against the tank. Failed to notice that he felt less empty than he had in weeks. 

Of course, just as he had thought about before, nothing in Kirkwall went smoothly for Hawke and his companions. They take one step forwards and the city manages to find a way to throw them back again. This time it was by a blade presented to his throat which made him tense up like a bowstring and his marking flared up wildly.

He had been so distracted by the tank to his left and then the Hawke's siblings that he hadn't even heard his attacker come in through the door or heard him sneak up behind him close enough to put a blade to his throat. Fenris knew better than to move, he wasn't certain he could phase out fast enough for the dagger not to cut his throat. 

This day really was turning out to be a shitty day for him.


	10. Ten.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anders is back! Well, almost... there are complications.
> 
> (Some gore here, just so you know it)

When Anders had been let back to the sea and said his goodbyes to Fenris and his friends, he had fled Kirkwall. He had swam as quick and deep as his tail allowed him, trying not to look back or he'd follow his heart and return to the pretty elf that had somehow managed to capture his heart in less than a day.

His resolve held for approximately two days before sorrow had clung too heavily on his heart and he had been forced to turn around before it threatened to devour him. Merepeople could not handle heart break. A merman who got his heart truly broken would loose himself, transform into a siren who felt nothing but the urge to hunt, the urge to kill.

Anders didn't know if this was true, he had just heard legends of it but no mereperson he had ever met had witnessed it. Maybe because sirens find mermaids the most delicious prey in the sea and no mermaid who met with a siren and came out alive to tell the tale. However tales were enough for Anders to be scared, enough to have him turn around to find his pretty lyrium infused elf, dreading to become a killing machine. 

The moment he had decided he would find his elf again his heart was lifted from the dark pit it had been spiraling down to. He didn't care if it meant living the rest of his life in a crate on a ship, being away from Fenris was more painful than living in the circle had ever been. There was an invisible bond, a pull, a need burning inside of his body that could only be sated by the elf. 

However as soon as he had reached Kirkwall he had grown reckless in his need to find the elf, reckless in a world of templars.

He had been caught, and this time not by Hawke and his crew. The templars had hauled him out of the water and locked him in a crate for transport back to the circle, to never again see the day of light, and this time Anders wouldn't have help to get back out.

The last thing Anders knew was that he'd never see his elf again, never see the elf who'm he had a bond to, never feel his touch or kisses. Anders had clutched to Fenris' belt and cried out his pain. The ship had been stuck in the middle of a storm sudden storm, caused by nature morning the loss of one of the most pure creations roaming the seas.

When the templars reopened the crate in the gallows, it wasn't a merman resting in it, it was a siren and they were on his menu.

* * *

 

Somewhere in that change he had lost everything. His body, his memory, his name and his life. He couldn't remember that his scales hadn't always been this dark murky green, couldn't remember that his claws had once been nails, that his skin once hadn't been this covered in scales, that his teeth once had been flat, that he once loved to blow bubbles under catfishes to startle them. 

All he knew was hunger. Anything that got into his tank was potential food. Anything that came close to the edges was his. The first day he had drowned three of the two legged templars, ripped one to shreds and devoured their hearts before their friends even had the time to blink. 

By the second day he figured out how to sing to lure them close enough for him to clutch them with his claws and draw them down, grinning of delight over the panic they felt when they realized too late that they were drowning. 

The fourth day they managed to gag him with a leather and metal contraption that they only removed to feed him which happened too few times for his liking. However just because he couldn't use his mouth didn't mean he was harmless. Anyone who got close enough he'd still haul into the water and kill by drowning them or simply using his claws. 

After a week they had learned not to get too close to his home and he just spent most of his time on the glass floor glaring out at anyone who passed him through the murky water. Sometimes he swam around in the narrow area or splashed water over someone within splashing range in hope of agitating them enough to come for him so he could kill them. 

That quickly became his days and nights. With no sun he couldn't tell how much time that passed, couldn't tell if it was daytime or night time, he just waited for the next kill. The two legged creatures came in everyday, feeding the things in the other tanks or putting other creatures into other glass prisons.

One day it was a pretty dark haired nymph they put in a tank some away from his own. He wondered if she would taste good or if it'd be like chewing on a frog. 

The same day, what couldn't be many hours later a small group of two legged creatures that wasn't the usual templars, came into the room. One had a beard and smelled disgusting, werewolves were not food, there was something inside them that made them quite disgusting, one of them were too short, the other too tall and the fourth had pointy ears. 

The one with pointy ears was pretty, somehow very familiar. He didn't want to kill the pretty white haired pointy ear like he wanted with everything else. Instead he wanted to pull him close, protect, kiss, have... he wanted to touch and taste but never kill. A feeling he didn't understand was pulling on his heart and all he could think of was a constant repeat of  _'Mine,' 'Bond,' Mate,'_

The pretty pointy ear walked closer and dipped his hand into the water, white markings that sang of magic. White markings he knew he had seen before, felt before, had before. The pretty one was his mate. He didn't know why he was his mate, he just knew that he was, it was something sirens rarely had but something they just knew if they ever found their mates. 

However the pointy ear didn't pay attention and got a knife pressed to his neck by one of the templars. He began hissing in the water, his mate, no one was allowed to touch or hurt **his** mate. In one swift movement he pushed himself off from the bottom, broke the surface and wrapped expert fingers around the human's throat.

He dug his claws into the flesh of the skin and ripped. His mate managed to pull away in one direction and the templar pulled the other, dragging him out of the water with him and they both tumbled to the floor. The templar tried to scream but he was already digging his claws through skin, muscle, vocal cords and bones. The templar fell limp under him but he didn't stop until the head fell clean off, creating a puddle of blood on the floor.

"Holy shit! Fenris step away from that thing!" The werewolf exclaimed.

He twirled around to glare at the voice and evaluate if it came close enough for him to grab and kill. But the pretty pointy ear was in his way. Crouched down staring at him with wide green pretty eyes. He had done a good choice in mate, he decided, very pretty to look at. 

"Anders?" The pointy ear asked slowly with a very pleasant deep voice. 

That name though... he knew that name, he had used it sometime on someone... hadn't he? No his mate had used it. Said it before sometime, sometime he couldn't quite remember. He had said it with his deep voice and a smile. He was Anders, or he used to be Anders at some point... he just didn't know when he had stopped being Anders and instead become... who he was now.

He blinked then slowly and clumsily tried to drag himself to his mate, slipping slightly on the blooded floor and the body that was in the way. The pretty elf recoiled slightly by his movement and he, Anders, quickly stopped. He didn't want to scare his mate, knew that sometimes siren mates got scared and he just had to prove he wouldn't hurt him. 

"Fenris that's not Anders, remember the cute merman boy? This is not him." The werewolf said slowly. 

"That's my belt Hawke." Pretty pointy ear said. "Anders... what happened?"

"How can he answer with his mouth shut?" The taller two legged huffed annoyed. "We should go. And not bring that thing, it just killed someone by clawing his head off!"

"Carver! He's a siren, he can't help it. Sirens are said to be merepeople who died of broken hearts." The nymph woman said where she was half hidden behind the werewolf. 

"Can we fix him?" The short one asked. 

"I... don't know, I don't think so... Fenris I'm sorry..." 

"We're not leaving him." His mate snapped.

Anders, (he liked that name, he would keep it) shifted slightly closer towards his mate again very slowly. This time the elf didn't back but his eyes locked at him and Anders could see the tension and quickly stopped again to wait a little longer. 

"Fenris he lives for killing now..." The werewolf said.

"I don't care!" 

"What if he kill you? Elf, he isn't the same as before."

The pretty pointy eared man looked at him with pain in his eyes. Anders made a muffled hurt noise under the metal and leather muzzle before shuffling forwards the last inches, sliding easily over the floor covered in blood and wrapped both arms around the elf to nuzzle up to his neck and shoulder. He hummed muffled under the muzzle, trying to comfort him.

He didn't care what they were saying. His mate was hurt, in pain over something and Anders wanted to heal that hurt. The elf went rigid under his touch at first but soon relaxed, wrapping his own arms around Anders in return.

"Oh..." He heard silently from the nymph.

"What?" 

"Didn't you say Fenris has been acting strange ever since they parted?" 

"Ever since the storm yeah. Why?"

"Oh dear... Anders won't hurt Fenris. He might kill anyone else but not Fenris. They must have mated..."

"Mat... what the hell?!" 

"Oh you mean how I caught them with their pants down?" 

"They must have been compatible. Mythicals mate. Garrett you should know that, you mated Izzy."

"I have done no such-"

"Imagine someone hurting her or her with another person."

Anders heard a low growling and glanced up from the elf to look at the cause of the growl. It was the werewolf, but since the growl wasn't aimed at him or his mate, he continued to ignore the other two legged and their chatting. Instead he shuffled closer to his mate and tried to kiss over some of the markings through the muzzle.

His mate wrapped one arm in under his tail and kept the other behind his back as he lifted him up from the ground. Anyone else getting this close and he'd have killed them, but his mate was allowed to carry him wherever he wanted, he trusted his mate, wanted his mate to trust him back.

"We should get out of here before anyone catches us." His mate grunted.

"We're still bringing the murder machine?" The taller two legged said in disbelief.

There was a unified "Yes." At that and Anders figure he might not kill the others. Maybe the whiny one who wanted to leave him behind... but he had a feeling he would upset his mate if he did, so instead he had to be satisfied with just glaring at the whiny tall human before dropping his head back to his mate's shoulder, wrapping both arms around his neck for balance.

"Bloody brilliant." The winy tall muttered before they moved out.


	11. Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff! Because.. FLUFF!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's pretty much just fluff. Some conversation and really, we are closing up towards the end of this story. Sort of :)
> 
> Just a few more chapters lovelies!

Fenris sat silently on the edge of a crate on Hawke's ship, staring out over the wide blue ocean, not really seeing it. He was trying to make sense of the things that he couldn't understand. ' _Mate'_ ,  Was the word Bethany had used.  _'_ _unbreakable invisible bond between mythicals and their partner',_  she had explained it. No matter how much Fenris tried to wrap his head around it, it only gave him a headache and more questions than answers. 

Their escape from Kirkwall had been surprisingly easy. There hadn't been much resistance as they escaped the gallows, a few templars that they had to kill but nothing more. When they had reached the ship as planned the rest were already there. Leandra, Orana, Merrill, Isabela and Sebastian (Aveline had to stay behind, she was the guard captain and they needed someone to keep them updated). They had set out from port within the hour and set out for sea.

Fenris had just waited for the whole thing to come clashing down around them, as always when they had a stroke of luck in this city.

It came in the form of a siren. The only trouble they ran into was Anders. Five times Anders nearly had drowned anyone passing the water filled crate they had put him in. Nearly  strangled Varric as the dwarven rouge had picked the lock of that muzzle of his. With said muzzle gone he had also nearly sung half of them into jumping off ship and Isabela to nearly crashed them into a reef. 

That's why Fenris now sat close by Anders crate and why he would remain close until they made their way to their destination. He was the only one who could make Anders stop what he was doing without getting killed in the process. Anders listened to him whenever he told the siren to stop, or at least didn't bite when Fenris muffled him with a hand, not hard anyway. He had bitten once but it was more like a love bite from a puppy. 

He shoot a glance over at Anders and sighed when he realized the siren was staring at him expectantly again. The blond did that whenever he was bored or about to do something stupid like trying to get one or most of them to drown themselves. So, he loyally stood up and padded over to Anders and hunched down to look into his eyes. 

Anders' eyes still were what they had been, a soft ember filled by playfullnes and curiosity. It was the eyes that gave Fenris hope that the merman was still in there somehow. That he'd be able to get that side back one day. Anders reached his hand out, stroking over the lyrium brands on his chin with a clawed finger. Fenris should be finding this disturbing, should pull back, should see Anders for the monster he now were. And yet...

He couldn't. 

There really was a bond between them, something invisible that made him fiercely protective over the blond. He gently caught Anders' hand and placed a kiss on the palm. Anders let off a quiet little sound that Fenris knew were one of glee. 

That was also something new, he understood Anders' noises, each and every one of them. He understood Anders' body language, knew whenever Anders was bored, if he was upset, happy, sad, annoyed, making ready for an attack. It was strange, he'd admit that, but it also made things easier, he never needed to wonder what Anders was feeling. 

He kissed on Anders palm again then grabbed his other hand and did the same to that. Anders squeaked but held still, delighted over the treatment he was receiving. It made Fenris smile, because it made him even more certain that his Anders, the merman who blushed and hid behind his own tail when complimented was still there. Maybe if he could just lure that side out... 

He was pulled out of his thoughts as Anders grasped his cheeks and pulled him in for a wet kiss with too much sharp teeth. Not that Fenris really minded, Anders was trying very hard not to accidentally hurt him with all new sharp teeth and claws but it was difficult. It was like trying to hug someone who was covered in spikes. A bit like trying to hug anyone wearing the armor he had worn while being under the service of his former master. 

"I think they're adorable." Merrill's accented voice said in a way that told that she thought was whispering very sneakily. 

"Is everyone on this ship bloody insane?" Carver muttered in clear annoyance.

"Carver, vhenan, hush!" Merrill purred.

Fenris made a face and pulled away slightly from the kiss but kept his eyes closed and rested his forehead against Anders', pretending he hadn't heard the other two talking. He already knew what the others thought about this whole thing, knew that Carver thought they should have left Anders in the gallows. Knew the others wasn't very fond of having the siren here. But he also knew they would help him try to turn Anders back to what he was before, knew he needed their help. 

Anders began to hum softly and Fenris felt the effect instantly. His head grew comfortably drowsy and pleasantly numb as if he was about to lull asleep after a long day of hard work. However he knew that he wasn't actually exhausted, not this much anyway and he nudged Anders' side gently to make him stop his humming.

"Stop that. I can't sleep yet or you will kill someone."

Anders quickly shushed and peppered his face with innocent little kisses, telling that Fenris hadn't been wrong i his assumptions that Anders had been planning something. Fenris chuckled lightly over the kisses, the siren was ridiculous, but it was quite adorable, at least to Fenris. At least when it was **_his_**  Anders that was the one being ridiculous. 

"I... it is nice to hear so much of your voice. Would you sound like this if you spoke as a merman too?" He asked and returned a kiss to his lips. 

Anders shrugged and looked into his eyes for a moment. Fenris smiled and gently pulled the cord out of his own braid and gathered the dark blond hair that kept falling into Anders' face up in a little ponytail to the back like he had the last time. Anders hair was a little darker now, just as his tail was darker. He looked into Anders' ember eyes and leaned in gently kissing him again. 

"I should fear you. You are capable of killing me with just a twitch of your hands aren't you?" He asked and sighed. 

He stroke his fingers along Anders' arms as the siren was still having his clawed hands to his cheeks. Anders gave a small little nod in reply. Fenris couldn't see it as he had closed his eyes, but he could feel it where their foreheads rested against each other. Still, Fenris wasn't frightened, wasn't uncomfortable. Anders wouldn't hurt him, he knew that. 

"But you won't, will you." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. 

A little shake came from Anders anyway.

"Why? Bethany claims we have mated. I did not know such thing existed." 

Anders nodded against him again and there was a little brush of Anders' nose against his own. 

"So, I am your mate?" Fenris asked. 

Another nod. 

"Are you mine? I mean... my mate." 

Anders lips was firm against his own and Fenris could feel the smile against his lips and he sighed but smiled as well. He knew that was a yes, it really should have freaked him out, he knew nothing of this. But it didn't, he couldn't, not when it felt so right. 

Not when it was about Anders.


	12. Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anders sulk, Fenris waits him out.

They had reached the island a few days prior. There had been a problem as to what they would do with Anders since none of them felt very keen on just letting the siren swim free and kill anyone he came across. There had been several suggested solutions, half of which Fenris had rejected as bad ideas as he didn't want his mate to live in misery.

In the end, Anders had been placed in the cove and Bethany had put a spell on a large area, erecting an invisible barrier that prevented Anders from leaving. The barrier was cleverly made, letting everything and everyone who wasn't a mythical in and out. This meant that they didn't have to fish to provide Anders with food, he could just grab it himself. 

Not that Anders had been happy about the confinement. He had attacked the invisible barrier, scratched and wailed at it for keeping him away from his freedom. the only way out of the area was by land and Anders had no legs. 

Fenris spent most of his days sitting at the beach with the sun blazing down on him. He practiced on reading books, watched Anders as he swam around sulking, trying the barrier for flaws he could exploit or just lay on the bottom with the seaweed glaring at nothing in particular. Fenris simply had to wait him out, he had the feeling that not even him would be very safe if he stepped into the water and told Anders to cut it out. 

Bethany had suggested that he should listen on all intuitions and feelings he got around Anders because their mating bond was what gave them to him. If he felt the siren would be dangerous if he pushed it, then the siren would be dangerous if he pushed it. If he felt the siren was angry, the siren was angry. Fenris didn't even question because he knew he wouldn't understand the explanation, he just accepted it.

This day, as the other days, Fenris sat down on the sand with an easy to read child book, just quietly practiced with the help of his alphabet sheet that Hawke had gifted him with. He was getting better at reading but it was still on an embarrassing low level, but none of his friends said anything bad about it, on the contrary, they all were very positive about his new reading abilities. 

His feet were in the water, wetting down his leggings but he didn't mind it. The water was warm and so was the air, his leggings would dry quick enough if he took them up anyway. 

However he smiled behind his book as he felt a clawed hand to his ankle but didn't look up. He knew who the hand belonged to, knew that Anders was rather uncertain in what to do and might be scared off again if he did the wrong thing now. He stopped reading though, just looked at the page while waiting for Anders' next move. 

The clawed fingers trailed out on his foot making him chuckled lightly. The instant relief washing over him nearly made him drop his book. Relief that wasn't his on to begin with but Anders'. He lowered his book to look at the blond and calmly closed it putting it away up on the dry sand so it wouldn't get wet. 

The siren pushed up in between his legs, squirming until Fenris helped pulling him higher up against his chest. Anders made a content sound and kissed on his chin before nuzzling his head against Fenris' chest closing his eyes happily. Fenris couldn't do other than smile, he had missed having Anders in his arms the days he had been sulking.

"Your hair is blonder again." Fenris said and stroke through the strawberry blond hair that was back in it's usual color. 

The siren looked up at him, confusion evident in his ember eyes as he tried to get a look at his own hair. Fenris smiled and pulled some of it forwards to show him. Anders blinked and looked curious at the blond hair then shrugged and made himself comfortable against Fenris' chest again. 

Fenris just silently continued to pull his fingers gently through the blond hair and placed small kisses here and there at the drying tresses. After a while he sighed and unlaced his tunic, shifting Anders around some so he could pull it over his head and then tossed it aside up to his book 

Anders looked at him and Fenris smiled, cupping his cheeks as he kissed him on the lips gently. Anders sighed and melted against him almost at once, eyes going closed and lips curling in a tiny smile. It always somehow felt perfect to kiss Anders. 

However he already had a plan. Taking advantage of the blond's pliant body he lifted him up and carried him down further into the water before sitting back down at a spot where the water reached up to his collarbones. Anders made a happy squeak before settling back in his lap again, this time with his tail wrapped around Fenris' waist tightly, looking far more comfortable with water around him. 

"I am sorry we can't let you out on a larger area." He said and stroke the blond tresses again.

Anders huffed at him with a pout in reply but also wrapped his arms around Fenris' shoulders, which told him that Anders wasn't honestly angry at him over it anymore. That was a relief to be honest. He didn't like the thought of his mate upset with him. He wrapped his own arms around Anders' body and kissed on his shoulder gently.  

"You would kill someone of we let you out. You don't want that... not the merman part of you." He began and sighed. "I can't... the magister who owned me... he killed for sports, killed for the fun of it, made me kill innocents for his amusement. I can't see you do that and still be yours... I am sorry." 

Anders pulled back slightly and looked at him quietly for a while. Then he quickly wrapped both arms around his shoulders again and began kissing little kisses all over Fenris' face. Fenris sighed but smiled slightly. While Anders was here, kissing all over his face no one got hurt, as long as Anders hurt no one who didn't deserve it Fenris could not complain. 

The siren had tried killing the others a couple of times but had also stopped when Fenris had asked him to stop. Bethany had explained that Anders probably didn't even actually mean to do it, it was simply the way of the siren. Hopefully they could reverse that, make Anders what he had once been, if not that, maybe they could change his need to kill people into killing... fishes or something.

"Will you try for me?" He asked and stroke a hand over the top of the dark tail. "Will you try not to kill anyone undeserving of it?" 

Anders pulled back from the kissing again made the most adorable puppy face Fenris had seen but then gave a tiny little nod. It was good enough for him. He leaned in for a lip kiss but just caught his lips against Anders palm as the siren was smiling cheeky at him. Fenris chuckled and cocked an eyebrow wondering what Anders was up to now. 

"I, try. N'other use of voice."

It was the voice of someone who had not spoken for a very long time. Rasped and ragged here and there and several words were missing, but that wasn't what caught most in Fenris ears. The moment the words came out his jaw fell to give for a soft moan. 

He couldn't explain it but the only thing he wanted to do was having Anders then and there, to buckle up against him and give Anders everything until they were both melted and meshed into one being. He wanted to give Anders the world and prove to him he was the only one he'd ever be interested in. 

Anders gave up a chuckle as he leaned in and kissed his lips deep and passionate. "Want you mine. My mate." Anders murmured with his cracked voice against Fenris' lips.

Fenris groaned and pulled Anders closer, his mate wanted sex, there was no way he would deny him that wish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guessed it, next chap will be smut!


	13. Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mermaid smut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not the best at smut but I tried and here you have it, Anders and Fenris getting at it without disturbance!

Fevered touches, hungry kisses and heavy pants. There was nothing but the two of them and that suited Anders perfectly. Fenris hot tongue was licking broad stripes down over his chest, soft fingers were exploring the scales over his hips with gentle care not to hurt Anders in the process. Anders hands were guiding Fenris' head with his own fingers tightly clasped in the shock white hair. 

Fenris had lifted him up from the water and carried him in those strong arms all the way up to a smaller house and slipped into one of the rooms inside the house that apparently was Fenris' bedroom. In the room there was a soft bed that Fenris had dropped him on before joining him down on it by straddling his hips kissing and licking all over. 

Fenris kept breathing out soft moans as he descended on Anders' body and Anders was trying to keep his breathing steady but hitched his breath as Fenris' clever fingers slipped over the scales of his tail and found the slit that hid his private parts.  

His mate looked up at him in question as he heard the little hitched breath before a smug grin replaced the concern Fenris had been showing. His mate let his fingers tease the spot again, searching before sinking into the pocket, sliding his lyrium covered fingertips slow and teasing over his already hard shaft.

Anders let out a needy moan, arching his back from the soft bed pushing his hips upwards to Fenris' fingers. Oh he wanted that so bad. He wanted Fenris to pull him free and touch, he wanted Fenris to keep exploring and find his puckered entrance just below, wanted Fenris inside of him. Wanted it so bad he had never wanted anyone as bad before, not even Karl. 

That thought confused him. He didn't know who Karl was... he just knew they had somehow been intimate once a very long time ago. But all tries to fish for that single memory was swept aside when his cock was pulled free by nimble fingers, immediately surrounded by heat and he realized he had pushed the elf's head all the way down to his cock with his hands still tangled in the white hair. Well there his elf had responded by taking the tip of his erection in mouth and teasing the foreskin

"Ah, F...Fenris." He moaned out.

That made the elf moan around his cock and quickly swallow down more of his length, swirling soft tongue over the head nipping the foreskin then sliding the tongue down the shaft skillfully.

Anders threw his head back into the soft pillows, his wet hair dampening them down as they spread out over the white sheets. His fingers clenched harder in the white hair gaping and panting. It felt so right, but it was too little. He wanted more, needed more, he wanted to be penetrated, wanted Fenris thickness inside him, he wanted to be driven to completion with deep thrusts. 

"More, more, need more." He whined, clicking his teeth together.

He let one hand fall out of the white hair, down over one of Fenris' own hand that was holding down his hips. Fenris growled out a light groan over his voice. Anders knew what his voice did against non sirens. His voice would send waves of pleasure and desire down the other's spine to get him to chase completion within Anders body.

This was why mermaids and mermen had it easier with people. Sirens couldn't talk without driving people mad with need, not that he minded Fenris mad by desire for him, but sometimes it was hard to communicate if the intention wasn't sex. Thankfully he could communicate with Fenris through body language and feelings, their mating bond was a blessing. 

He helped sliding Fenris fingers down past the hard cock that was still being eagerly cared for by a cleaver tongue and hungry lips. He slipped Fenris' fingers back into the slit and down to his anus, eagerly waiting to get penetrated by his mate. Fenris glanced up with lust filled eyes, a slight questioning look in  his face but when Anders whined at him needy he quickly got the hang of what Anders wanted to be done and slowly slipped a long lyrium etched finger into him. 

It made Anders cry out of relief, the urge to mate was screaming in his head. The urge to be filled, fucked and stuffed with seed was a primal basic instinct and it was raging inside his body, begging for completion. He didn't even know if male sirens could produce offspring as a female would be able to, but right now he didn't care either. The need to be filled was too strong for him to be able to think about anything else. 

"Fenris! Mine! Need! Please." He croaked out without context, just words, trying to get what he wanted.

Fenris pulled his reddened lips off his cock with a wet pop and let it fall against Anders' scaly stomach, hungrily licking his own swollen lips. Anders moaned when he saw how dark Fenris' eyes were and took a deep breath to remain as calm as he could.

Fenris' finger moved excruciatingly slow as they pushed deep down to the knuckle then slowly out. Anders moaned and gasped squirming around but Fenris free hand clenched his hip down and slowly all those white lyrium marks began glowing up blue and Anders cried out his pleasure over the heated sensation they gave up inside of him, he nearly spent himself then and there but managed to fight it off, he wasn't ready for it yet, not until he had Fenris' hard cock inside of him. 

The elf just began kissing all over his stomach, the lyrium on his chin teasing playfully against his skin. Then a second finger slipped into him, stretching his hole wider. His body produced it's own slick, being a sea living creature it was simply part of who he was and Fenris could easily soon slip a third digit into Anders' waiting heat.

Fenris began mumbling against his skin between kisses, licks and nips. The infuriatingly slow teasing strokes that was stretching him out for Fenris, for his mate, picked up in speed just the slightest, the thrusts getting a bit more shallow. 

"I am yours." Fenris murmured to his skin. "You are mine, my mate and I will remain at your side." 

Anders melted under the possessive yet tender undertones of that deep rich voice as Fenris continued to whisper more of the same kind of words, claiming him in words as well as action while getting a little faster for each thrust of those glowing fingers. 

Anders was soon reduced to a needy sobbing mess underneath him, pushing up his hips as good as his tail allowed, clawing long angry marks over Fenris' shoulders, arms and the back of his mate's neck, while begging wanton for more. 

Instead he cried out his displeasure when Fenris pulled his fingers out, leaving him horribly empty. Fenris kissed him while working on his leggings that was still covering his important parts. Anders tried to help as much as he could from his position but it caused more trouble than help so he gave up and just threw his head back with a needy moan.

Soon enough the emptiness was replaced by a long deep thrush as Fenris' cock penetrated him, stretching him wider than his fingers had done. It was a twinge of pain but it quickly ebbed away as Fenris' chest touched his own, strong arms on each side of his head kept the elf up as he began a steady pace inside him while kissing his neck and shoulders murmuring that Anders was his. 

Anders trashed his tail while clawing over Fenris' back to pull him in, to get him closer, deeper, harder, anything. He was just chasing the feeling of need. Fenris crashed their lips together in ravaging kisses between moans and panting. The sheen sheet of sweat between them made their chests slide easily against each other. 

When Fenris fingers of the right hand locked around his cock and began stroking it just right Anders muffled his cries of pleasure by biting his mates shoulder, Fenris hissed and cursed when the sharp teeth drew blood but didn't pull away or did any indication to tell Anders to stop what he was doing. 

With an especially wicked twist of his wrist, Fenris forced Anders over the edge with a loud cry, numbing out his fin and making his vision blank out as hot white spurts of seed washed out into Fenris hand and painted white between their chests. 

A few more thrusts later and Anders got the completion he had been searching as he felt Fenris empty inside his pliant entrance, filling him up to the brim. His elf growled out a loud moan as he released before falling limp over him with a heavy sigh. Luckily, Fenris wasn't very heavy, just enough to be comfortable against him. 

Anders began peppering lazy kisses where he could reach without moving until Fenris gently began responding to them with content sighs. Anders was beaming, he had done that, he had reduced his mate into a puddle by just being himself. That was thrilling, so right and exciting that he nearly let out a giggle of happiness. Almost, he was exhausted and incredibly comfortable now and sleep was luring at him just a blink away. 

The elf slowly pulled out of him and Anders whined unhappy but didn't move, just yawned and stretched out some as Fenris grabbed for the closest  he could find to cleaned them both off. When they were both relatively free from cum Fenris dropped back in the bed with him laying flat on his back before pulling Anders close to him.

Anders shifted around some before dropping his head to Fenris' shoulder and curled his tail around Fenris' legs. Fenris stroke his fingers lazily through his blond hair and a soft kiss was placed over his eyebrow. 

"Mine." Fenris mumbled tiredly to him.

Anders hummed agreeing before his eyes heavily shut, sleep pulling him under.


	14. Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beach funtimes!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for short chapter but I am trying to wrap this thing up and I am currently thinking about being very evil and leave you all in a cliffhanger and might come back to this fic another time... 
> 
> What do you people say? :3 Cliffhanger or no?

The sun was high on the sky above Fenris' head, warming and comfortable for someone who had grown up and lived his entire life under the unforgiving sun over Tevinter, (for as far as he knew), but harsh against people like Hawke who came from a much cooler Ferelden. Fenris had to admit today was a little warm even for his liking but this was battled with spending his day sitting with his legs mostly submerged in cooling water at the beach.

In his right hand he held a new practice book, not one of his usual children's book but a costume made book from Varric with an exciting adventure about pirates, treasures, power mad maniacs and mythicals. An epic adventure that was fitted for someone his age instead of a child. It helped that he recognized a lot of the plot from his adventures with Hawke and his little adoptive family of misfits. The book made him smile over how much thought Varric had actually put behind this book for no profit other than to help Fenris learning how to read.

The book however, wasn't the best part of this day even if it was a very good part. Nor was the homely sun or the cooling water lapping his cross-legged thighs.

No, the best part was the blond that was currently resting his head in Fenris' lap. Anders' body and tail was leisurely stretched out down into the water, now and then lazily flopping the fin by the surface to chase off some small fish or to simply make the water ripple around him. Fenris didn't understand what was fun with it but every time Anders did it he'd make a little giggling sound of amusement.

Now and Then Anders would nip his legs through the black leggings and quickly kiss over the little sharp toothed bite, marking that Fenris had forgot to move his hand in his hair when he got too caught up in his book. With his sharp teeth, claws and scales Anders didn't look the part, but he was as love craving as Hawke's mabari whenever Hawke neglected to give him his daily cuddles and kisses. 

Not that Fenris minded Anders need for affection and attention, he was all too willing to give Anders anything that would make his mate happy.

It had been a week since him and Anders had completed their mating bond, a week since Fenris had learned how exactly merman/siren anatomy worked when it came to those parts. After that night something had just fallen into place, whenever he was close to Anders and knew he was fine he felt at peace, happy and serene. It was if he had found a missing piece of a puzzle he hadn't even known he was laying. 

It was satisfying and he realized that even though he had been free for years; Before Anders, it hadn't actually been freedom, it had been survival, and that was **not** the same. 

Fenris smiled as clawed fingers wrapped around his wrist and pulled his hand away from the blond tresses to the siren's mouth instead. Anders began kissing on his hand, obviously bored and Fenris glanced down at him as he turned the page of his book with his free hand before putting  his attention back into the book. He'd just finish this chapter then he'd put it away in favor of giving all attention to his mate.

Anders squeaked loudly in protest as he noticed that Fenris had returned to the book and sharp teeth clenched around two of his fingers, not enough to draw blood, more like a pinch. However he couldn't deny that Anders looked very good with Fenris' fingers in his mouth and drew Fenris to entirely other images of limbs that Anders could have in his mouth instead of his fingers. 

"You know, your teeth are very sharp Anders." Fenris said calmly, fighting the smirk that wanted to spread over his face. 

Anders huffed before licking over the bite apologetic, then got a wicked grin and sucked at his fingers. He repeated step one and two a couple of times, leaving Fenris fingers wet by drool and saliva. He just managed to bite back a groan over the act and chewed his lower lip. 

"You will not let me read more today will you?" He asked and chuckled lightly. 

Anders grinned toothy and quickly shook his head in a prompt no.

Fenris smiled as Anders wiggled up in his lap and carefully put the book up in the dry sand so he could wrap his arms around Anders without adventuring to water damage his new book. 

"And what pray tell, do you want us to do instead?"

The answer to that was easy and efficient as any answer Anders could have given. Soft wet lips pressed against his own and Fenris easily pulled Anders down with him on the sand, he knew tons of more fun and enjoyable things the two of them could do together and at least five of them involved his fingers still slicked up by Anders' drool. 

 


	15. Fifteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is it, beach gathering and the end of this fic.

It was late evening, or possibly early night. The sun had long since given the sky back to the moon as the calm of the night slowly  had settled over the island and it's inhabitants. Crickets sung in the grass by the main house and in the little forest, frogs quacked and an owl screeched in the distance. The warm breeze now and then made the waves lull quietly against the sand and rocks in nature's own little symphony.

It wasn't pitch dark though, the moon and the twinkling stars up in the sky illuminated the beach and everything on it in a calm pale silver-blue light. Fenris' white hair was nearly glowing in the pale gleam of the moon, his eyes reflecting slightly green in the dark, and in his face danced shadows from the crackling fire. Fenris' eyes weren't glowing, it was too much light from the fire for them to actually glow like cat eyes, but there was a nonhuman reflection in them that Anders loved.

Anders own scales were reflecting both moon and fire and spread a colorful pattern against Fenris' thighs where he sat in his mates lap. The turquoise scales of his tail were back in their normal color, his claws were gone and his teeth were flat. The haze of power, the sirens might, were all washed away, leaving just the merman behind.

Fenris had been his salvation, Anders knew that. Fenris had pulled him out of the dark and kept the siren from doing too much damage. The Templars he had killed he felt no remorse about, but he hadn't been able to do the same had he managed to hurt any innocent. It had taken a few days for him to be able to even look at the rest of Fenris' friends, knowing how much trouble and danger he had caused them. 

But Fenris had held tight to him one day as Hawke had come down to the beach and told him it was fine. No one was mad at him for what had happened and that very same night they had all come down to the beach to play cards and chat. Anders hadn't spoken, just sat curled in Fenris' safe lap, but they had returned the day after anyway. On the third night Anders had felt more at ease and tonight he even nodded at questions and smiled when he was talked to. 

He was still in Fenris' safe lap though, it was both a security and comfort for him, dry sand had a tenancy to sneak in under his scales and itch for days. Also, he loved the little kisses to his shoulders and the back of his neck that Fenris gave him while he sat in his mate's lap. 

Every night they were playing wicked grace, a game Anders had no idea how it worked and couldn't actually join in on gaming, but that he enjoyed to watch nonetheless. He would switch Fenris' cards around in his hand to put the cards into prettier patterns whenever he grew bored. Since Fenris didn't stop him or complained about it he just assumed he was allowed to do it and would also continue to do so until he was told otherwise. 

"We got news from Kirkwall today." Varric said with a deep sigh. "Red is coming here and she is bringing Donnic with her. Meredith has gone mad and claimed authority over the entire city, chantry included." 

"What about the viscount?" Hawke asked arching a brow. "He's the one in charge isn't he?"

"Assassinated, Meredith claims mythicals did it but it was apparently painfully obvious the work of a Templar." 

"What about Seamus?" Bethany asked. "He's Dumar's son, shouldn't he be the next viscount?" 

"Kidnapped by a Qunari but my contact doesn't worry over it, he says that it would be awfully hard for a Qunari to get into Seamus room at night without a very direct invitation." Varric said with a little chuckle. "That boy always did work in favor for mythicals. 

"Wait, didn't you see Seamus in an alleyway with a Qunari once Isabela?" Merrill asked curiously. 

"Going at it like wild dogs." Isabela purred. "Well, they were kissing at least, and deep kisses." She said and sighed dreamy. 

Anders giggled lightly when Hawke huffed and nudged her for making dreamy noises over other men. Fenris never made dreamy noises about anyone else, not even about Hawke who was clearly very well fit and quite Handsome. Anders had been a bit worried Fenris might want someone else, that Fenris would want someone with legs, but when Anders saw Fenris look at him his elf looked like if Anders was a treasure and it never failed to make him blush. 

Right now Fenris wrapped a strong arm around his middle and tugged him closer before kissing at the shell of his ear making Anders shiver appreciatively, eagerly helping to wiggle closer to the elf's chest, flexing his tail slightly. 

"Do you need more water?" Fenris murmured against his ear as the rest of them argued if Seamus and a Qunari had went at it like dogs or not. 

Anders reached his hand down to his drying tail and nodded before looking back at Fenris with a smile. It was easier at night but the tail still dried out when he spent too many hours out of the water. That's why he loved when Fenris sat with him in the water so Anders could splay his tail out in the water while his head stayed in Fenris' lap.

Fenris hummed and kissed him before scooping him up from the ground easy as ever, excusing them for a while to the others before carrying him back to the sea. Bethany had taken the barrier down allowing Anders to swim wherever he wanted. Not that Anders swam away from the cove much, he wanted to be close to Fenris, but sometimes he liked to explore a little further away.

Fenris gently dipped Anders down into the sea and Anders easily slipped deeper into the water. He dove down and stretched his tail by swimming around some, making zigzag patterns and wide loops. He grabbed some seaweeds before he returned to Fenris to be picked up and carried back to the others again. 

At the fire they were still talking about Kirkwall and the increasingly bad situation of it all, about Meredith being power mad and what should be done to stop her. It was obvious that she couldn't continue the way she was or Kirkwall would soon be a ghost town with nothing but Templars inhabiting it. Anders hadn't lived in Kirkwall but he knew that all these people still saw it as their city and he really didn't like templars so the conversation interested him anyway.

"We could take it back." Hawke said with a serious face. "We could take it back and make Kirkwall a free city for nonhumans and humans alike. Ferelden is getting better by the day after Alistair sat on the throne but they still lock up a lot of mythicals without reason. What if we took Kirkwall and broke the chains?"

"We would need an Army." Carver said and frowned. "Where would we get the people?"

"The gallows. It is full of people who want Meredith dead." Bethany pointed out. "Also every human who want to be free of her tyranny."

Anders suddenly came to think of someone who would help. Justice, the wardens, they would help, half of them were mythicals themselves and even if Anders hadn't fitted the life of a warden they were still friends and they had all been fighting smaller fights for the mythicals of Amaranthine. The grey wardens didn't usually meddle in politics, but he knew that the warden commander had done his share of meddling in politics anyway.

"The warden commander Liam Amell." He said carefully. Everybody stared at him and he curled slightly with a blush back towards Fenris. "He would help, Justice, Velanna, Sigrun, Oghren and Nathaniel too." He mumbled self conscious and played with the scales on his tail as he regretted saying anything at all. 

"The warden commander? Did you say Amell?" Hawke asked surprised.

Anders nodded and thankfully laced his fingers with Fenris' when his mate wrapped his arms safely around him and took both his hands. He was a bit worried that Fenris would be angry with him for not sharing that he'd once been a warden, but Fenris' fingers laced with his was very assuring. Anders' even dared to peek up to look at the people around him.

"You know the wardens?" Carver asked curiously. 

Anders flushed and blinked "I... I was one." He said carefully and glanced up towards Fenris. Trying not to let the dread he felt wash through their bond.

There was a deafening silence and Anders wished Fenris would put him back in the sea so he could hide from this whole thing. But instead the elf kissed his cheek and a wave of calming reassurance washed over him through Anders. His elf wasn't mad at him for not telling about the wardens.

"Do you know where they are? We could send them a message." Fenris said instead and stroke his thumb over Anders' hand.

Anders breathed out a deep breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. Fenris clearly not being angry had put such relief in him that his confidence in the matter had grown in record time. "The warden keep in Amaranthine." He replied a lot more eager. They could do this, they could write to the wardens and ask for help, maybe they wouldn't all come, but Justice would, Anders was certain he would.

"Well then Blondie, you and me will compose a letter tomorrow." Varric said with a smile. "I will write to several other contacts as well." 

"Tomorrow." Hawke agreed. "Let's enjoy our last lazy night then, tomorrow, we will begin the plan to take back Kirkwall." 

Anders smiled and leaned comfortably against Fenris, listening to the chatter that instantly became lighter and goofy.

In the wardens Anders had been part of something bigger than himself, but it hadn't been... what he really wanted to do, their line of work hadn't been suitable for him. Now he was about to be part of something that could promise a life for him and Fenris in freedom. A life for anyone who wasn't human the freedom they all deserved.  

He only hoped that Fenris felt the same. A creeping worry clutched his heart, what if this wasn't what Fenris wanted? What if Fenris would leave because he was tired of fighting? Fenris had said he didn't like killing, or he didn't like killing without it being necessary. This cause was something that needed to be pushed but maybe Fenris wanted to push it another way.

Anders quickly turned as much as his tail allowed and looked at Fenris with wide eyes, worried he had overstepped things.

Fenris leaned in against his ear with a small promising smile. "I remain at your side, through anything. We will have our freedom"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well possibly the end. One day I might return to it and write about Hawke and the gang taking back Kirkwall if I come up with a nice plot for it. 
> 
> But that day is not today!  
> Today is the day I leave them here in a happy place of love and friendship!
> 
> Thank you all for commenting and kudos and just... man you gave me over a hundred kudos I just don't know what to do of myself! You are so bloody brilliant I just want to scoop you up in a hug and keep you forever!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope this was enjoyable, kudos and comments are appreciated.


End file.
